Love Across The Ages, Again?
by FavouriteKitten
Summary: Inuyasha & Kagome are married, five years after the defeat of Naraku. To ease Miroku's depression over the loss of Sango, they bring him to the present time. Could the girl he meets be Sango's reincarnation, or is he just seeing what he wants to see?
1. Miroku's Sorrow

**True to my habit of "always forgetting one thing" I forgot the disclaimer when I originally posted this. To anyone who saw it in that space of time and felt as if I was claiming the characters as my very own, I am sorry! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or related characters. I make no money whatsoever from this story or the characters portrayed therein.**

I hope you enjoy this story. This is set out to be a _long_ one. This is the place I put ideas I've had that I really like, but don't quite fit into my books. This is actually a MirSan story in disguise, don't be put off by the fact that she's dead in this chapter. This chapter is quite a doozy, if you can get through this long one, I promise the coming chapters will be substantially shorter.

As always, I welcome and encourage criticism. As long as it's constructive. But with that comes two caveats: 1. I didn't do any research for this, this was written as a hobby okay? So don't expect the settings and events to be researched to professional standards. And 2. No, I don't use Japanese honorifics or terms. I know some people like that, but I don't. Trying to go back and forth between languages in the same sentence, for me, is like shifting my car repeatedly between gears for no reason while driving. I either will write the _whole_ thing in Japanese, or the _whole_ thing in English. And this one, my friends, is in English.

And now, on to my story!

"Smell that fresh air!" said the raven haired young woman to the equally raven haired young man beside her. She pulled the collar of her cinch waisted black overcoat closer to protect against the wind. Her hair, pulled into a ponytail, whipped wildly around her face. The young man's waist length hair floated like a flag in the breeze. The woman let out a sigh of contentment. "If anyone had told me five years ago, that I'd actually be coming to the Feudal Era for _relaxation_, I would have laughed in their faces."

"Kagome?" came a familiar voice across the grassy field, faintly at first but growing closer at quite an amazing speed.

"Shippo!" exclaimed Kagome, gathering the fox-child into her arms. "How's my favourite little fox? Being brave as usual?"

Shippo puffed up his chest. "Of course. Now that I'm the only demon left around here, I'm so busy protecting the whole village!"

The dark haired man with Kagome grunted. "You just wait until tonight."

"Ssh, Inuyasha. Shippo is a great demon, and you are a great human."

"Yeah, what's with that?" said Shippo. "I thought you always wait until he becomes a half demon again to visit. You're early this month."

Since the defeat of Naraku, after much discussion of what to do with the Sacred Jewel, it was decided that Inuyasha would use it to become human. However, unwilling to leave their friends behind on the other side of the well, Kagome and Inuyasha had retained a small piece of the jewel to enable them to travel back and forth. This had an interesting, though unintended effect on Inuyasha's transformation. Whereas when he had been a half demon, the night of the new moon caused a change into human form-now it triggered a week long transformation back into his half demon form. Meaning that three weeks out of every month, he lived as a human and the fourth week he lived as the familiar dog eared half breed. They usually chose this time to visit their friends through the well, rather than staying in the modern era and risking being noticed.

"Um…"said Kagome tentatively, beginning a question she wasn't sure she wanted to ask. "Where's Miroku?"

Shippo's expression darkened. "Same place he was the last time you visited."

"Oh, dear," Kagome said quietly. Shippo nodded.

Even Inuyasha mustered up a bit of concern. "Sango's grave."

"I better go see him. This isn't right," said Kagome.

"But we just got here," protested Inuyasha. "I wanna eat!"

Near a quiet path, under a tree, stood an unassuming stone. And a few feet from the stone sat a figure clad in purple and black. Staring. Not moving a muscle. Just staring at the stone.

"Hey Miroku," Kagome said as if speaking to a timid child. "What'cha doing?"

The only response he gave was to take a deep breath, hold it for a few seconds, and then let it out, slowly but loudly.

"Come on, Miroku," shouted Inuyasha. "What are you, some kind of weak girl now?"

"Inuyasha!" admonished Kagome.

"What? I was just trying to help! That would get _me _up."

Kagome knelt down beside Miroku. "It's cold out here. Why don't you come indoors with us and have a nice hot lunch?"

Miroku ignored her.

"Look," said Kagome softly. "We all miss her. How she went…it was really unfair. I know I sure wish I had someone to remember the good times about her with. I bet you have some great stories."

Miroku hesitated, then turned his head towards Kagome. "I couldn't save her," he said hoarsely. He turned the palm of his formerly wind-tunnel afflicted hand upwards and shoved it towards Kagome. "Because I didn't have _that _anymore. Because my curse was lifted, my life was spared and hers was lost."

"Oh, Miroku," Kagome whispered, a tear trickling down her cheek. Sango's death was one of those events that seemed like they never should happen. Shortly after Naraku's defeat, she had fallen into a deep depression over the death of her brother. Wanting to kill herself to join her brother in death, Miroku had talked her out of it by promising to make her a bride. After their marriage, joy and happiness returned to Sango's heart. They were trying for children, and had agreed that the first boy would be named after Kohaku.

8

In the glow that followed their marriage, Miroku and Sango agreed that they would settle down and practise leading quiet lives that would befit young parents. Sango hung up her Hiraikotsu and put away her slayer's uniform for good. Miroku, although he couldn't give up wearing his monk's clothing, let his intense religious training slide in favour of more domestic pursuits-like cooking.

Then one day, as he cooked a stew outside in the glow of a fiery summer sunset, Sango bounded out with a smile and announced she was going to the next village to slay a spider demon for one last thrill, for old time's sake-just to get it out of her system.

"It's just a minor demon. I'll be home for dinner. And when I get back we can work very hard on trying to have that son we want."

Those were her last words. By the time Miroku heard something had gone wrong, he raced to the village to save her. But he was only in time to witness the spider demon crack her bones and fling her crumpled body to the ground as he stood by, helplessly.

Miroku got up stiffly. Heaven only knew how long it had been since he last stood up. He only moved from that spot for one thing-he couldn't bring himself to relieve himself in "Sango's" presence.

"It'll be nice to go inside," Kagome soothed. "There's a fire going and a lovely stew on for lunch."

Miroku didn't say anything. Nobody had bothered with him this much since he had started his graveside vigil. To be honest, nobody knew what to do. For the past few months he had been living firmly outside the real world. Now facing reality again, he was becoming acutely aware that his robes were filthy from sitting in the mud all that time. He felt miserably embarrassed, and wished he could turn back time to when he only felt plain miserable.

"Hey, Shippo," called Kagome as they approached the hut. "Guess who's joining us!"

"Whoa," was all Shippo could muster when he caught sight of Miroku.

"Quit staring at him," growled Inuyasha. "Show some respect, or I'll pound you."

"I'm sorry," said Shippo. "I really missed you, you know," he said, wrapping his little arms around Miroku's legs.

"Hmm," said Inuyasha. "I think I'll pound you anyway."

"I'd like to see you try! I'm a great demon, and you're just a puny human."

Kagome smiled to herself. "Old times…" she mused.

Miroku moved closer to the fire. One of the aspects of reality that was now hitting home particularly hard was that it was now winter and very, very cold. It hadn't bothered him before, because he had been too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice. But now that he did notice, he found he'd started shivering and couldn't stop.

Blasted do-gooder Kagome! Stupid, stupid woman! Always sticking her nose in where it wasn't welcome!

Before he'd simply been depressed.

Now he was depressed, ashamed of his appearance, and freezing. Exactly what was the advantage in _that?_

A ridiculously grinning Kagome pushed a bowl into his hands and cheerily ordered him to "eat up!". _Fine,_ he thought. _If it'll make you leave me alone, I'll do anything you want. I only have to put up with it until you leave, anyway._

"When are you going to turn into a half demon," whined Shippo. "I wanna watch."

"You're not gonna watch! Go away and quit bothering me!"

"Oh, Inuyasha, he's just happy to see you. Give the kid a break"

"Yeah, give me a break!"

"Aaaargh! Go away, both of you!"

Miroku listened to the din of voices from the comfort of his futon. Although the sun had not completely set, and everyone else was catching up on things, Miroku was far more tired than he had previously thought. Plus, it had been a while since he slept indoors, lying down-and the futon looked so irresistibly comfortable. He pulled his blanked tighter around his shoulders and assessed his situation.

Oh, he was still depressed. But he was no longer cold, and since he had changed into nightclothes, had no further reason to be ashamed of his dirty robes. At this moment in time, he was actually rather comfortable. He closed his eyes and dozed off…

When Miroku opened his eyes again, the bright light of the moon shone through the window. Finding Shippo had curled up next to him, he tried not to move too much as he looked at what was going on around him. He could make out the shape of Inuyasha's head leaning against the window frame, clearly sporting his "dog" ears, the moonlight glinting off the edges of his hair, giving a silvery glow.

"Well what do you think we should do," Kagome's voice came out of the darkness.

The Inuyasha figure turned his head to look out of the window. "I'm just saying we can't just leave him here on his own. After all he did for us in our fight against Naraku, I'm not going to abandon him. He deserves more respect than that."

"Are you saying we should bring him back with us? Do we have room? I mean we _are _trying for a baby, don't forget."

"I'm saying we either bring him back with us, or we stay here with him."

Miroku closed his eyes, convinced that what he'd heard was a dream. After all, Inuyasha never spoke about respecting anyone. Then again, maybe five years and being married to Kagome had changed him.


	2. Modern Shoes and Maneating Friends

After a sad opening, here is a (relatively) briefer chapter hopefully incorporating some funnier moments. I've taken a lot of artistic license in this chapter, I know. I hope my readers will forgive me!

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"How does this work, anyway" said Miroku nervously. Why he was nervous, he had no idea. Kagome had done this hundreds of times, hadn't she?

"You just jump in," laughed Kagome. "That's all there is to it. You'll have to hold on to either one of us real tight, since it's our jewel fragments that lets us go through."

Miroku raised an eyebrow and extended his arms towards Kagome.

"Hey," warned Inuyasha. "That's my wife!"

"Oh, well. If that's how you want it," said Miroku innocently and wrapped his arms tightly around Inuyasha.

"Get off me!" Inuyasha bellowed.

Kagome giggled. "I'm glad to see you're getting back to your old self, at least." She linked elbows with Inuyasha on her right and Miroku on her left. "Everybody ready? Let's go!"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Sis, can't you make him stop doing that? I'm trying to study!"

"I'm so sorry, Sota," Kagome apologised to her younger brother. It was annoying. She could understand Miroku's fascination, but he's been playing with that light switch for nearly three full minutes now.

"Come on, you," she said, taking his hand off the light switch. "There are far more interesting things than that to see"

"Really? What could be more miraculous than making light appear at will?"

"Here, try this," suggested Kagome, switching on the television.

"Wh-wh-wh-" stammered Miroku in amazement, kneeling in front of the television and stroking the screen with his fingers.

Just then, Inuyasha came into the room holding a telephone.

"What do you want on your pizzas?" he asked.

"Who said we were having pizza," said Kagome sternly.

"It's Miroku's first night here, and I want him to try the best things first."

Kagome shook her head. Evidently, Inuyasha's definition of the best was vastly different from her own. For a former half demon from the Feudal Era, he sure liked foreign fast food. Suddenly, the television began growing alarmingly louder.

"Kagome," shouted Miroku in a panic. "What's happening?"

"Sis," protested Sota. "Can you guys keep it down? I have a really big test tomorrow!"

Kagome snatched the remote control from Miroku's hands and turned the television off. "Come on," she said, grabbing him by the hand. "We'll get you into some modern clothes and I'll take you out to see my old neighbourhood."

In Kagome's bedroom, Miroku wasn't sure where to sit. He looked at the bed, that seemed as if it were designed for sitting upon. But he decided against it, not wanting to look stupid, or offend Kagome in case it turned out to be for eating off of, or something.

"Here you go," said Kagome, presenting Miroku with a black sweatshirt. "It's Inuyasha's but you guys seem to be both the same size, I think. It's pretty roomy so you should be comfortable, if you're anything like he was it'll take you a while to get used to modern styles of clothes."

"It feels strange," he commented, after putting on the shirt. "It's nice and warm but it has a strange smell."

Kagome frowned. "What are you talking about, it's perfectly clean. I washed it myself! Oh! Oh yeah, that's the smell of the fabric softener. Inuyasha hated it at first too. You'll get used to it." She handed him a pair of Inuyasha's shoes to try.

"So this is your house," Miroku mused as he wedged his foot into the shoe, and winced.

"I grew up here," said Kagome. "But Inuyasha and I have our own house nearby. But Mother has Sota here to look after things, and I visit a lot," she added hastily, almost apologetically.

"I can't move my toes," Miroku complained.

"Sorry, but you can't go walking around in sandals. Nobody wears them around here, and you'll stand out. If it were summer you might just get away with it, but you're out of luck. Come on, now. Lets go for a walk, and I'll show you where I grew up. Inuyasha! We're going out! Want to come?"

Once outside, Miroku held his hand over his nose. "Your time smells bad," he frowned.

"What? How can you say that! Your time smells of livestock!"

"That's because the villages that are lucky enough, have livestock," said Miroku as if to a child.

"It's called 'cars'," explained Inuyasha. "They smell terrible, but they are really great. If you want to go somewhere, you sit inside them, and you can put your CD's in there and it plays music so you don't get bored." Inuyasha obviously considered himself to be somewhat of an expert on the subject. Unfortunately, he'd lost Miroku at "CD's". "But," he continued. "Kagome never lets me use hers by myself."

"Cars cost a lot of money!" admonished Kagome. "And you're far too reckless…uh-oh!"

The "uh-oh" was in reference to a figure she'd spotted in the distance, which had turned out to be her old school friend, Eri. And now Eri had spotted her.

"Hey, Kagome!" she shouted, running over to meet the group. "You're back in the neighbourhood. Oh, my! Who's this handsome fellow?"

That's what Kagome had been afraid of. She hadn't yet coached Miroku on what NOT to say in the modern world, and chatterbox Eri was guaranteed to ask about a hundred questions. _Especially_ to an eligible bachelor.

"This is my cousin, Miroku," said Kagome.

"Miroku? That's a funny name. Where did you get such a funny name? So you're Kagome's cousin, are you? Where are you from? How come I haven't seen you around here before? Oooh! Have you lived abroad? I love guys who've lived abroad! Do you speak any sexy foreign languages?"

"You'll have to excuse him," interrupted Kagome. "He…he's…he's got laryngitis and he can't talk. Not a word! So you'll have to find out _all _that another time." Kagome gave a forced, giant grin.

"He doesn't look that sick to me. Anyway, maybe we don't even need to _talk._"

"In fact," said Kagome, prying Eri's fingers from Miroku's shirt while Miroku looked on with a bemused expression. "He's actually quite contagious, so you'd better stay very, very back so you don't catch anything."

Eri shook her head and addressed Inuyasha. "Well then he's _definitely _a Higurashi," she snorted, referring to Kagome's school days and her many, fictitious, illnesses. "I hope _your_ side of the family has some strong blood, or your future children are doomed. Seriously, Kagome, there must be a curse on your family or something. Hey! Maybe the shrine is cursed! Anyway, call me before you leave, okay. We can go out for a coffee or something. Promise me!"

"Of course I promise!"

As Eri flounced off into the distance, a truly perplexed Miroku turned to Kagome and said: "Are all the girls in your time that forceful?" He grinned. "Because if they are, I think I might just like it here."

In the next chapter: the joys of pizza and modern beds.


	3. Pizza and Bathrooms

_I've learned some things about how formatting behaves on here (like how asterisks don't show up), so from this point on my stories should be easier to read. (I've used x's to demarcate scenes rather than the aforementioned invisible asterisks). As always I welcome criticism. I no longer care if it's even constructive. Flame me, call me a stupid moron who can't even write...as long as you validate my existence._ () _ Actually, I hope everyone who reads this enjoys it, whether or not you care to validate my existence! Miroku is one of my favourite characters-I believe he was written with a lot more depth than people give him credit for, so I'm just trying to write a story that does him justice!_

Kagome clenched her hands and shrieked "How can you say that! Weren't you heartbroken over Sango just a few days ago?"

"Sorry. You said it made you happy to see me 'back to my old self' so I was just trying to…"

Inuyasha snorted. "Trust me. You can never figure out how to make her happy, so just do what I do. Do whatever you want, and ignore her when she nags."

Kagome shot Inuyasha a Look. "Hey," he said hurriedly. "Don't get mad, I was just making a joke."

Miroku smiled to himself. Although Kagome no longer had the power of "sit" over Inuyasha, it seemed like she was doing a very good job of keeping him in line without it. That's the kind of power a good woman has over a man. Sango had that power over him. She could stop him in his tracks with one of those Looks women are so adept at. Of course, she could send his heart soaring to heaven with a little smile.

"Hey," cried Inuyasha, interrupting Miroku's reverie. "There's the pizza man's car. I bet he's already gone to the house. Hurry up, lets get home before Sota eats all the pizza."

"Hold on," protested Miroku. "Wait for me, I can't walk in these shoes…"

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Let's eat," shouted Inuyasha in glee.

"Hold on," said Kagome. "Where's Miroku disappeared off to?"

"Dunno. He took off as soon as he got in. Maybe he had to take a lea-"

"Watch it! You know I hate that expression!" An expression of horror came over her face. "I haven't told him about indoor toilets yet! I'll go find him."

"Well I'm going to start eating with or without you two."

"You are so rude!"

"Hey, I didn't say I wasn't going to save you a piece! Give me a little credit."

"Miroku?" called Kagome, as she walked down the hall. Well, he wasn't in the bathroom. "Hey, where have you gone?" She pushed on the door to her old bedroom, which was slightly ajar.

Kagome shrieked.

She had been greeted completely unexpectedly by the sight of a Miroku who was completely unclothed save for his left arm which was thrust through the sleeve of his black robe. It didn't help, that in the confusion he froze in that position rather than continue dressing.

"Waaah! What are you doing?"

"Er," said Miroku, still not continuing with the dressing. "I believe _you _are the one who walked in on _me_. I just wanted to change back to my normal clothes. I like to be comfortable when I eat."

"Okay, whatever. Just get dressed will you? And I'd hurry if I were you, if you want to see any left when you get out there. Inuyasha eats like a vacuum cleaner."

"What's a vacuum cleaner?"

"It's a thing for cleaning. It sucks things up."

"Oh, like my old Wind Tunnel?"

"Okay, then. Inuyasha eats like your old Wind Tunnel. Now get dressed and lets eat dinner."

"Um…Kagome, would you mind perhaps letting me have some privacy?"

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Oh, Inuyasha, can't you have better table manners?"

"Hey, it's pizza. You're _supposed _to eat it with your hands."

"Er, um, I can't quite get the hang of this. It keeps falling apart."

The last statement came from a baffled Miroku, who was having a difficult time indeed with his slice of pizza. The cheese and accompanying toppings had slid off completely, and when he tried to return them to the bare slice, it split in half. "Can't I just please use chopsticks?"

"Nope," said Inuyasha. "If you want to live in our time you have to do things our way?"

"_Our_ time?" said Kagome.

Miroku was horrified. "People don't use chopsticks here? How on earth do you eat?"

"Of course we use them!" reassured Kagome. "Just not usually for pizza. But if you want to do it that way, nobody's going to stop you."

Inuyasha snorted. "Spoilsport."

"My fingers are disgusting," muttered Miroku forlornly, prompting Sota to pass him a napkin. Sota had decided he was quite impressed with this newcomer, particularly his hairdo. He found himself wondering how long it would take himself to cultivate a ponytail like that, and whether it would be trendy enough to catch the eye of that girl at school. He remembered his sister mentioning a "Miroku" when she came back from her trips to the feudal era-and the stories about him usually involved quite a few girls. Sota made a mental note to ask Miroku privately later for some tips on how to get girls.

Miroku sighed. This modern food was not to his liking. He began to lean towards Kagome to ask her a question, then changed his mind. This wasn't the sort of question for the ears of a gentle woman. Maybe Inuyasha would know? No! Inuyasha wasn't exactly the paragon of discreetness. He'd probably make sure the whole room heard about it. Sota, then?

"Can you please point me in the direction of your outhouse?" he whispered in Sota's ear.

"The…what? I can show you where the bathroom is, if that's what you mean." Miroku nodded at him gratefully.

Sota and Miroku excused themselves from the table and Sota led the way down the hall. As they stepped into the bathroom, Miroku pointed at the bathtub with trepidation and said: "Please tell me I'm not supposed to use _that._"

Sota laughed. "No! That's the bathtub. You know, for taking baths in."

"Like your own private hot spring? What a fantastic house you live in! Oh, dear…but… this one is all dried up."

"No. You have to fill it up from the taps." Sota turned on the water to demonstrate. Miroku gaped in astonishment. This place was beyond amazing. Light on demand, hot water on demand, people who bring food to your house…he couldn't help but think, if he had been Kagome he would have run back home screaming at the first sight of the Feudal Era and never came back. Perhaps that was a testament both to Kagome's strong will and her love for Inuyasha. To be able to leave all of this luxury, and live in a world with hardship, demons and war…she was _some _girl.

He returned from his thoughts to notice Sota was blushing and looking away while he spoke. "Anyway after you are y'know _done_ you flush it like this. And you have to put the seat back down or Sis'll kill you." He took a deep breath, the most embarrassing part of his speech completed. "Then you can wash your hands here. That's the hot water, and that's the cold water, and you push on that to make the soap come out."

So much to take in, thought Miroku. The staggering amount of information he had taken in in the last few hours alone, was giving him a headache. He wished he had some of those leaves old Kaede made into a tea, which was always great for a headache. Kagome always said they never used leaves and plants as medicine in her time. He would have to ask her what on earth they used instead. He then pondered the concept of washing ones hands, as he did just that. He thought that was a great idea. He always thought people in Kagome's time must be obsessed with keeping clean, as he felt Kagome to be, but this was just a great idea.

After he had finished his business with the bathroom, he headed to Kagome's room without a word to anyone else. He had left his things in there, and he really just wanted to look at them for a while without having to make conversation with anyone. He sat down on the bed, next to a tied cloth bundle containing all the worldly possessions (besides his staff, currently propped up next to Kagome's desk, and his clothes) that he had chosen to bring.

His "worldly possessions" was mostly a collection of little bits and pieces, mostly of sentimental value. Shippo's "goodbye" gift to him when he left earlier today: Shippo swore it was a genuine phoenix feather, phoenix or not it was a lovely shade of reddish orange; a pair of sake cups that Mushin had given to him as a wedding gift; a small stalk of bamboo which Shippo claimed was a good bye present from Kirara and very, very lucky; a writing brush he used to practise calligraphy once he had free time after defeating Naraku; various gifts from Sango and her hair ribbon; and finally the most precious item of all…

His one and only image of Sango. Kagome called it a Po..la…r…well what it was called didn't matter. What was important was that it was an image of his beloved. It wasn't perfect, she was wearing these odd clothes from Kagome's time which probably explained why her pose seemed a little forced. But it had been taken under pleasant circumstances. A rare sort of day, when the sun was out and everyone was a little relaxed, with battles and demons far from their mind. He liked those memories.

And, he could picture that day as clearly as if it were yesterday…

_Coming next...a little flashback!_


	4. Memories of a photograph

_(flashback scene)_

_Miroku shifted his weight slightly and sank further into the soft grass._

_"Hey, Inuyasha," he called to the branch above him without bothering to open his eyes. "What do you reckon those two are up to?"_

_"Beats me. Anytime those girls get together, it spells trouble for us. So I'm gonna just let 'em keep doing whatever it is they're doing."_

_"Mmm," agreed Miroku. Despite the fact that the sound of Sango and Kagome giggling in the bushes had certainly roused his curiosity, he was too warm and comfortable to even think about trying to move from his resting place under the tree._

_It was certainly an unusual day. Kagome had come back from her time carrying a plastic box, a bag of something, and wearing a determined grin on her face. Without a word to Miroku or Inuyasha, she grabbed Sango's arm and led her behind the bushes. Once hidden, she issued her warning: "Don't you two even think about coming back here."_

_"Irresistible," they heard Kagome's voice announced. Miroku's eyes flew open and he lifted his head from the grass. Visions of two girls cavorting around in his head, he just couldn't ignore them any longer. Of course, he knew the reality was probably nothing like what was going on inside his head, and the reality was probably going to smack him in the face if he went over there._

_Suddenly, he heard Inuyasha stirring in the branches above him._

_"I don't know what I smell, but I think it might be evil," he announced._

_"Okay, Miroku we have a surprise for you," called Kagome. "Are you ready?_

_Miroku's heart pounded. Two girls…with a surprise for him? Had he fallen asleep under the tree, and unknowingly begun having a wonderful dream? The laziness of the day left him in an instant and he leapt to his feet , his heart pounding in excitement._

_"Be on your guard, Miroku," warned Inuyasha. "Something doesn't smell right about them."_

_Sango and Kagome burst from behind the bushes. "Taaa-daaa," sang Kagome._

_Sango peered up at Miroku shyly. She looked slightly uncomfortable. When Miroku looked at her, he saw what the two girls had been up to all that time. Kagome had obviously brought some clothes over from her time. Sango was dressed in a rose coloured skirt the same length as Kagome's, which was very floaty and caught the breeze attractively. She wore a black top, with a floppy bow at the waist, the most striking feature being that it was sleeveless and Miroku was seeing her bare arms for possibly the first time ever. Well, the first time that she knew about anyway. Her hair had been piled on top of her head, and Kagome had curled little ringlets with a battery powered curling iron, to beautifully frame Sango's face._

_When Sango raised her face from looking at her feet, further results of Kagome's handiwork were evident. In place of her normal dark pink eyeshadow, she was wearing something white and glittery, which made her eyes stand out more than usual. And she was wearing lipstick and blush for the first time ever. He put his hands on her bare shoulders and felt the softness of her skin._

_There was something else about her though. Something he didn't like. Inuyasha was right, there was a bizarre smell clinging to her that was unlike anything he ever smelled before. His eyes began to sting and water. What was going on here?_

_Sango approached the stunned Miroku. "What do you think?"_

_"Er……" was all Miroku could say._

_"Kagome called it a 'makeover'. She said this is what girls in her time are all wearing."_

_"Ummm….."_

_"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"_

_"Ahh……."_

_Sango's face crumpled in disappointment. "I knew this was a stupid idea," she muttered, looking at the ground to hide the tears welling up in her eyes._

_Suddenly a sneeze erupted from Miroku's lips. Fortunately, he had the presence of mind to turn his head to one side, and move Sango away to the other side. Unfortunately however, the urgency of the situation meant that his gesture was a little more rough than intended, and he ended up shoving Sango. Even more unfortunately, Sango was wearing high heeled strappy sandals for the very first time in her life. Already unsteady on her feet, Miroku's shove caused her to topple sideways onto the grass._

_"Ugh," said Miroku with a sniff. "What manner of foul miasma is this?" He rubbed his burning eyes and glared at her suspiciously._

_Sango's voice cracked as she tried to hold back a sob. "It's Kagome's perfume. She said boys are supposed to find it irresistible." She clutched her right foot. "Owww," she whimpered. "My ankle…"_

_"I'm sorry Sango," said Miroku, covering his face with his sleeves and backing away from her. "I know you went through a lot of trouble and all, but please stay away from me until you've washed that stuff off of you."_

_Hurt beyond belief, she inspected a grass stain on the borrowed pink skirt and tried to pretend that she wasn't crying._

_Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_

_Sango approached Miroku who had taken up his previous spot under the tree. _

_"I've washed, now," she said quietly. "Can I join you?"_

_Miroku sat up. "Of course. You know, _now_ you look absolutely perfect."_

_Sango frowned. "I'm wearing the same clothes you always see me wear!"_

_"Exactly. Anyhow, I am truly sorry about pushing you over earlier. I was trying to do something polite, and it came out all wrong."_

_"It's okay. Anyway, Kagome took a picture of me before I changed my clothes with her magic picture box. You can have it…if you want…"_

_Miroku took the photograph in his hands. "I'd be honoured to keep it," he said._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"There you are," said Kagome, poking her head into the bedroom. Inuyasha is watching some action movies and wanted you to join him.

"Thanks," said Miroku. "But I'm not really in the mood right now."

Kagome pushed the door completely open with her foot, and came in with an armload of pillows and sleeping bags, which she dumped unceremoniously on the floor.

"It's going to be a tight fit in here tonight. There are only three bedrooms in this house, so we're all going to have to sleep in here tonight. Well, I can't ask Sota or Mother to give up their beds. Inuyasha's not going to be too happy, but I've decided that since it's your very first night here, you get to sleep on the bed, and we'll take the floor."

Miroku pointed to the bed he was perched upon. "You mean this? This is for sleeping on? It's so far off the ground, what if I fall off?"

Kagome laughed. "That's never happened to _anyone_ as far as I know. Don't worry, you'll love it. Beds in my time are the softest, most wonderful places to sleep." Her eyes twinkled in delight.

"Aren't there any futons anymore?"

"Some people like to stick to traditional furniture, but in this house we have mostly western furniture."

Miroku had no idea what "western furniture" meant. He made a mental note to ask about it later, he just couldn't take in any more information today. Besides, Inuyasha had just appeared in the doorway, leaning on the frame.

"Hey, Miroku," he drawled in his usual off-hand manner. "Aren't you coming to watch movies with me? There's this one set in our time, and we can watch it and laugh about how wrong they got it."

"Maybe tomorrow. I'm a little tired from all the excitement."

Inuyasha came in and sat down cross legged on the floor. "That's fine. Hey, we can talk in here instead-I need to teach you everything I learned about living in this time."

"I don't think _you_ are the best teacher for him," said Kagome. "Can you move over a bit, I was trying to set up a sleeping bag here."

Inuyasha scooted over. "Who's sleeping on the floor?"

"You and I," explained Kagome. "That is, unless you want me and Miroku to sleep next to each other-then you can have the bed."

"Nope. I'm the only one who sleeps next to you."

Kagome smiled in triumph. "We might as well start thinking about going to sleep now. We ought to have an early start tomorrow." She fussed with Miroku's pillow as she spoke. "You are going to need a whole wardrobe of modern clothes if you are going to live here. So that means I get to take you shopping!"

Inuyasha groaned. "I'll warn you, Miroku, you are in for a very boring time! I remember when she did that to me."

Kagome clasped her hands together in delight, daydreaming about fashion and shopping. "I don't see you in street clothes like Inuyasha. I think you would look best very sharply dressed. Oh, that would be nice…"

"At any rate," interrupted Inuyasha. "You should stick to the same colours that you already wear, because they really complement your eyes."

Miroku and Kagome gaped at Inuyasha in astonishment.

"What?" said Inuyasha, leaning onto his back. "So I read Kagome's fashion magazines when I get bored. Big deal."

Kagome shook her head in amusement. "Okay, everyone. Lets try to get some sleep, okay?"


	5. Out of Nowhere, A Familiar Face

"Not a chance," came Miroku's muffled voice.

Kagome prodded the person shaped lump in the duvet again. "Mother has cooked a very nice breakfast in your honour, and she's looking forward to meeting you."

Miroku uncovered his grinning face. "I never want to move from this spot for the rest of my life. This is the most comfortable thing I have ever experienced. You'll just have to bring my breakfast to me in here."

Kagome laughed. "Cheeky!" she said, ripping the duvet from the bed.

"Nnnh! Now you've ruined the whole thing. I'll just quickly dress for breakfast. What are we having?"

"Pancakes with fruit. And we don't 'dress for breakfast' here. See, I'm still in my pyjamas. I haven't even brushed my hair yet. So you're fine."

Kagome led a reluctant Miroku to the kitchen table. Reluctant, not because he wasn't hungry, but because he was nervous. For one, he was about to meet a new person in his night clothes. And two, he wasn't entirely sure what a "pancake" was, yet he would shortly be expected to eat one.

"So, you're our new guest," Kagome's mother greeted. "Nice to meet you. I hope you're comfortable in our house."

"Very much so," Miroku smiled. "You have a lovely home. And, if you don't mind me saying so, I can see now where Kagome gets her good looks from."

As Mrs. Higurashi blushed and laughed, Kagome shot Miroku a look that clearly said: "That's my mother, don't you _dare_ hit on her!" Miroku responded with a look that said "Can I help it if I'm charming?" as he tried to position himself into this thing called a "chair".

"This is a very strange way to eat," he commented, referring to the table which, to him, seemed an eternity away from the floor.

"I suppose it's very strange," said Mrs. Higurashi with a smile. "To find a shrine house fitted out with modern furniture, instead of in the traditional style. But that's down to me, I just love western style houses!"

Miroku took his very first bite of pancake soaked in syrup and froze.

"It's…so…_sweet_…" he gasped, reaching for his glass of water.

"I know," agreed Inuyasha while shoving what would be, for a normal person at least, four mouthfuls into his face in one go. "Isn't it great?"

Miroku sighed. He hoped that somewhere in this strange world existed a nice meal of fish and rice just waiting for him to eat it.

XXXXXX

After breakfast, Kagome was quite eager to embark on their shopping trip. A prospect which actually worried Miroku dearly, as he had not much money and was certain that the little money he did have might not be spendable in this place. And Kagome was going on about needing this, and that, and things he'd never even heard of-and he didn't want to offend her by pointing out that he couldn't in fact afford _any_ of these things.

However he was perfectly willing to submit to her orders at the moment, which involved standing naked from the waist up in front of the mirror while she tried to decide which of Inuyasha's shirts would look best on him for this little excursion.

He pulled on a grey hooded sweatshirt with strange black symbols on the front and gazed critically at his reflection. Clearly Kagome didn't approve either.

"You see," she said. "I was right, you're not a casual clothes kind of a guy. I think you'll be one of those men who really looks good in a suit."

"Keh," said Inuyasha derisively. Miroku jumped at the sound of Inuyasha's voice, if he'd known Inuyasha was watching he wouldn't have been stripping off his clothes so brazenly. "Who walks around in a suit? What's he going to wear to go for a burger?"

Before Miroku could ask what "going for a burger" was, and when he'd be likely to do it, Kagome was already nodding her agreement. She pushed another shirt into Miroku's hands, this time a knitted blue jumper. (author's note: US readers, for "jumper" read "sweater")

"Now that's a bit more _you,_" she said.

"It itches," Miroku said, but nobody seemed to take any notice. In fact, Kagome now seemed to be in a hurry to get him out, actually physically pushing him while muttering about how long she needed to get ready.

He was accosted by Sota as soon as he hit the hallway, staring wide eyed at him like he was some kind of celebrity and who followed him into the sitting room as if glued.

"So, you're going clothes shopping?" said Sota.

"Er, yes. I think so."

"So what kind of clothes do you think are cool?"

"I have to say, I don't really know. This is all so new to me."

"Is it true you know how to get any girl to fall in love with you?" This prompted an immediate snort of derision from Inuyasha, before Miroku could even answer.

"Listen, kid, don't ask this guy for advice about girls. The only thing he knows is how to get slapped upside the head."

"Hey!" protested Miroku. "In case you've forgotten, I _did _manage to get Sango to marry me."

"I think that was more in spite of your efforts, rather than because of them."

"What are you guys arguing about?" Kagome's voice interrupted. Sota blushed, to everyone's confusion. Perhaps he was embarrassed being caught trying to ask for advice on girls. Miroku eyed Kagome up and down, trying not to let Inuyasha catch him doing so. She had really become more beautiful in the last five years, much more womanly. All she wore today was a simple pink cardigan and a pair of jeans, yet looked fantastic. And her habit of pulling her long black hair into a ponytail high on her head, rather than letting it fall where it may, made her face look more attractive. Possibly because it showed off her eyes. And did those high heels ever do wonders for her rear!

Yikes! Miroku shook his head, trying to stop that line of thought before it got him into trouble.

"Are we going in the car?" asked Inuyasha.

"No, we're not going into the city, just local shops," answered Kagome. Then, she turned to Miroku. "Now, in case anyone tries to talk to you, please just remember three things: One, if anyone asks, you're my cousin. You need to have a full name now that you're living here, so you are going to be Miroku Higurashi from now on. Two, you are never to mention demons of any sort. Or the sacred Jewel or anything like that. I'd even go easy on anything about ever being a monk either. And three, don't say you don't know anything. If in doubt, either pretend, or change the subject."

"Sure thing."

"Why can't we take the car?" whined Inuyasha. "I want to show Miroku the radio."

"When you start earning money for petrol, we can take the car as much as you want."

"Humph," Inuyasha pouted and crossed his arms.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Is it lunchtime yet?" pleaded Inuyasha.

"We've only been shopping for two hours."

"Actually," interjected Miroku. "A break would be great. My feet are in pain. No offence, Kagome, but the shoes people have to wear in your time are awful."

In addition, they had passed a restaurant a few doors back that had practically made him drool. It looked as if it served normal food-which by his definition was rice, vegetables, and fish. He really felt like he was in need of a good meal, everything that had been offered to him since his arrival in this time slightly bordering on the inedible.

Inuyasha hopped up and down in an excited gesture Miroku was astonished to see him make.

"I know something you're going to love," he announced.

And so, Miroku found himself not in the lovely looking restaurant kneeling on the floor eating fish; but rather sitting in a plastic seat facing uncertain food yet again. He didn't want to complain, of course. Kagome and Inuyasha were his hosts, and as such they were looking forward to sharing with him all the things they enjoyed. There was no way he would want to disappoint them.

Kagome returned to the table carrying a plastic tray full of food wrapped in paper.

"Where's Inuyasha gone?" Miroku asked her, rather annoyed that it had been Inuyasha's idea to come here in the first place and he had now disappeared.

"He's gone to go get a newspaper for me. He'll be back in a minute. Here you go. This is called a 'hot dog'." Kagome stood and scanned for Inuyasha. "Oh, there he is. He doesn't see us, the silly thing."

Miroku unwrapped the paper from the thing Kagome had handed him and took a big bite.

And immediately regretted it.

"Oh, I've done something stupid haven't I? I've just eaten a bit of that," he said apologetically to Kagome. "I thought this was the food."

"It _is _the food," said Kagome, bemused.

"People actually eat this? Oh dear…" He clasped both hands over his mouth. "Oh, no!" He leapt from his seat and fled from the restaurant.

Kagome just watched in shock.

Inuyasha approached the table and threw the newspaper down unceremoniously. "What did you do to him?" he asked. "There's some flowers in the flowerpot out there that never even stood a chance." He laughed.

"I just gave him a hot dog," Kagome said quietly.

Miroku leaned against the wall, not really wanting to go back inside and face his friends. After all, he'd just insulted the food in the worst way possible. And Kagome had used her money to buy that food for him, even after using her money to buy all those bags of clothes for him as well.

"Okay…" he muttered under his breath. "I've made an absolute idiot of myself."

He stared at all the people walking past. How bizarre to feel so alone in the midst of so many bodies. A tap on his shoulder from behind startled him out of his reverie. He turned around to be confronted with a smiling female face.

"Hi there," said the girl. "You look like you could use this." She thrust a bottle of water at him and grinned.

"I-I, um…"

"Take it. It's brand new, not even opened. I just bought it right now. So you don't have to worry about there being poison or gross mouth germs in there."

"Um, thank you."

"Sir, are you okay? You kind of look like you're going to faint or something. Do you have someone you can call?"

He pointed dumbly towards the restaurant. "My friends are in there."

He couldn't speak. He wanted to say so many words right now but they refused to come out. Staring into this girls face was like looking at a ghost from the past. This wasn't just any face. He knew this face, he had this face memorised.

"C-c-can I," he stammered. "Thank you, with drink? I mean, can I buy you a drink to thank you?"

"Sorry, but I'm running late. Y'know I had to go out of my way to stop and buy that water for you. I'm supposed to be at a job interview right this minute."

Miroku tried to say something, but his tongue just wouldn't work.

"Okay, I have to go," the girl said with an uncertain smile. She paused, seeming to wait for him to say something. When she was met by silence, she turned around. As she walked away, she waved over her shoulder.

Before she totally disappeared into the crowd, Miroku took a deep breath, and mustered up all his courage.

"SANGO?" he called after the girl, but she didn't turn around.

**Coming next chapter, another Miroku x Sango flashback!**


	6. Miroku Reveals a Secret

**This is my longest chapter so far. But, it is the one I am the most proud of so please give it a chance. Print it out, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy. Thanks to everybody who reviewed and validated my existence, especially Sesshos Gal who reviewed each of my recently submitted chapters and made me feel that all the typing is worth it! I might not get a chance to update again this week, as I need to work on some of the projects that pay for the electricity that run this computer. But please be patient. I've got plenty more of this story left in me!**

Kagome felt concerned. Miroku hadn't said a word during the whole walk home, and had disappeared into her bedroom they second they arrived. She tried to relax on the sofa next to Inuyasha, but couldn't sit still. Inuyasha, who sat with his arm around her, grunted as she shifted position once again.

"Oh, just go see how he is," he ordered. "You know you want to."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Because I'm so nosy?"

"Hey, I was gonna say because you're so caring, but now that you say so…"

Kagome picked a throw pillow off the sofa and tossed it at him playfully.

"Yoo-hoo, Miroku," she called softly as she opened the door to her bedroom. This was swiftly followed by "Eeek! I am so, SO sorry!"

Miroku scrambled to cover himself by dressing as quickly as possible, while this time Kagome at least had the presence of mind to cover her eyes with her hands.

"I'm decent now," he said, trying to make his hastily-donned robes not look quite so sloppy. "Is this going to become an everyday occurrence?"

Kagome looked at him quizzically. "Are you going to change back into those every time we're indoors? You'll never get used to modern clothes that way!" Noticing Miroku's sullen expression, she put her arm around his shoulders and added. "Maybe I'm trying to throw you into modern life too quickly. Tonight I am going to cook Japanese food for dinner. And you can even sleep on the floor if you want."

"No! I want the bed!"

Kagome laughed. "So you like one thing about my time at least. Come and watch TV with us, and relax."

He tried. To make up for the lunchtime incident, he did his best to refrain from further insulting his hosts by attempting to make his face look as attentive and captivated as theirs while staring at the pictures in the box they called a "television". He hoped he was making a decent effort, but in reality he didn't understand what all the fuss was about. Once you got past the fact that the magic box in the corner had pictures of people moving around in it-well, it was a bit boring.

So, in spite of himself, he found his mind wandering…

That girl at lunchtime, he could have sworn her face looked just like Sango's. He'd checked his picture of Sango when he got home just to be sure. The eyes, the cheekbones…sure, her hair was shorter but he would know his beloved's face anywhere.

Then again, could he be sure he was thinking clearly? That…_thing_ he'd eaten in the restaurant, if it had affected his stomach so strongly, could it also have affected his mind? There was no way to be certain of these things. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time that something Kagome had given him had messed with his head.

He smiled as he thought of that memory. Yes, that had been interesting to say the least. Of course, he owed a crucial step in himself and Sango's relationship to Kagome and those funny pills.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_(flashback scene)_

_"Don't talk to me!"_

_"But Sango!"_

_"I mean it!" she spat. "Don't. Talk. To. Me."_

_Miroku sighed. He wanted to scream at her right now. He wanted to shout "I got this stupid injury saving your life, doesn't that at least count for something?" But, of course, she wouldn't let him even finish a sentence. _

_Okay, she had caught him doing something that could be construed as flirting. But that girl had completely come on to _him_! Granted, he did nothing to stop her advances…but he didn't want to be rude to the girl-after all it would be embarrassing to her if he just rebuffed her completely. And it didn't help when he discovered that she wanted to charge him money for the privilege of her company. This was so unfair! Wasn't he just being polite to a sweet lonely young girl after all? Sango should thank her lucky stars to be with such a kind person! If only she would listen to his side of the story._

_And to top it all off, he'd gotten the rotten end of the stick in a battle earlier, and his right arm was now cradled uselessly in a sling, his shoulder having been painfully wrenched beyond belief as he tried to shelter Sango from an ambush attack by some idiotic demon. So that meant no Wind Tunnel either. In fact…he was the one who should be mad at HER right now!_

_"I hope you're happy, Sango," he thought crossly._

_He repeated that very same thought later, as they sat down to dinner in the house of a wealthy gentleman in the village they stopped in. Fish soup was the delightful dish served to them that night, and Miroku's mouth watered at the prospect._

_Until he realised that eating soup was really a two-handed affair. He attempted sitting the bowl down on the ground and using his good hand to operate the spoon, but found that most of the soup was lost in the journey up to his mouth._

_A pair of hands picked the bowl off the ground and raised it up to his chin._

_"Okay, now try it." It was Sango. Interesting…_

_"I thought you were mad at me," he muttered._

_"Oh, I'm furious. But just because you're a perverted, two timing jerk doesn't mean you should starve."_

_"But your food will get cold."_

_"Oh, just eat before my arms get tired holding this."_

_He stared at her suspiciously as he spooned the soup from the bowl. He felt his anger softening. Why was she was doing this for him, allowing him to eat before she even touched her own food?_

_As Sango set his empty bowl on the ground, Miroku looked at his feet and muttered "Thanks." Clearly, he wasn't ready to stretch to an apology just yet._

_As he turned his body to try to stand up, some of the more inflamed parts of his arm registered their displeasure. He clutched his shoulder and groaned._

_"Does it hurt bad?" said Kagome, reaching for her yellow backpack. "Do you know, I think I might have something for that in here…ah, this." She took a prescription bottle out and shook out two small white pills. "The doctor gave me these that time I sprained my ankle. They are really strong painkillers. Hopefully no demons will attack tonight, because if you're anything like me you might get kind of loopy."_

_"If they did attack tonight, I'd be useless either way," he said. But, he was ready to try anything, so he accepted the pills from Kagome and swallowed them with a little tea._

_**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**_

_Slightly later, Miroku sat near his sleeping area contemplating just how he was going to change into his nightclothes. Something struck him as sort of funny about that, and he snickered to himself._

_"I might have to sleep in my robes tonight," he announced to no-one in particular, and laughed._

_"Who are you talking to?" came Sango's voice. "I came to see if you needed any help."_

_He gave her a sort of sleepy smile. "I need lots of help. But I don't think you can help me." He gave an odd sort of laugh, a bit like a giggle. Sango wondered why he might be laughing. If what he'd just said was a joke, she sure didn't get it._

_She narrowed her eyes. "Have you been drinking sake? How come I didn't get any?"_

_"I haven't been drinking sake. Although…I feel a bit like I have…" he giggled again. He leaned forward to reach for Sango, when he attempted to stretch his arms towards her, his injury gave him a sharp reminder of his presence._

_"Ouch….do you know, I completely forgot I had an arm there," he said, as if discovering an interesting fact for the very first time._

_Forgot he had an arm? Thought Sango. What in heaven's name was wrong with him tonight? Then she noticed Miroku attempting to flap his injured arm like a hurt bird._

_"It really hurts when I do this!" he exclaimed in delight._

_"Then stop it!" Sango ordered. "I mean it, you have to stop doing that or it's going to get worse! Miroku, listen to me!" She flew over to him and pinned his arms at his sides. Taking a deep breath, to quell her irritation, she said firmly "I don't know what you think you're doing but you need to stop."_

_Sango had an idea. She retrieved a roll of cloth bandages that Kagome carried around in case of emergencies. Holding the bandages in her teeth, she sat straddling Miroku's legs, and began pulling his robes down around his shoulders._

_"Why, Sango," Miroku purred. "If you wanted me to undress for you, you only needed to ask. Mind you, this is a side of you I think I like. Fierce and in control."_

_Sango rolled her eyes. "Is that all you think about?" _

_She wound the bandages around the injured arm , all the way around his torso until the whole roll was used up. When she finished, the top of his arm was pinned securely to his side._

_"There," she said with satisfaction. "You just try and move it _now."_ When Miroku actually did try, she gave him a light tap on the head. "It was a figure of speech, I didn't mean actually do it. Anyway, we might as well get you into your nightclothes while I'm here to help you."_

_Miroku laughed sleepily. "You just want to see me naked, don't you?"_

_"If you don't cut it out, I'm not going to help you at all."_

_"You like me. You think you're all mad at me, but really you like me."_

_"Shut up. Why are you acting like this anyway?"_

_"Do you want to know how I know? It's because you DO get mad. If you didn't care you wouldn't get mad."_

_"Put your arm in the sleeve. Not that one, the other one. That's a good boy," she said as if talking to a five year old. She held her hands gently on his back to try to ease him into the bed._

_"I want you to get mad. Then I look at you, and you're mad, and I know everything's working out okay."_

_Sango dropped Miroku on the floor. "What did you just say?" she demanded._

_"I want you to be jealous," he continued. There seemed to be no stopping his mouth from disclosing this information. Inside his head, there was a voice screaming at him to shut up, but the moron controlling his mouth had other ideas. _

_"What the hell is wrong with you, you pathetic excuse for a-" Sango was shaking with rage. Who says things like that?_

_"I want you to be jealous because I want you to say it first."_

_"Huh?"_

_"Every time, I wait for you to say it, and you never do. Why won't you say it? Just say to me 'don't talk to those girls because I want you all to myself.' And I'd do it, you know. It's the simplest thing in the world but you won't say it. I'm not going to be the one to say it first-you might make me look like some kind of a fool…so I try to force you to say it…but you never do…"_

_His voice trailed off as he began to drift into sleep._

_"Wait a second!" Sango pleaded. "Don't leave me with that information and then go to sleep. Hey! Wake up and lets talk about this."_

_"Just…say it" he mumbled groggily._

_Sango slid underneath the blanket, next to him. She kissed his forehead, and he opened his eyes slightly._

_"Miroku…I want you all to myself," she whispered. "I don't want anyone else to have you. I want you to want me and nobody else in the whole world."_

_He smiled slightly. "That's all you ever needed to say. Was that so hard?"_

_And with that, he was asleep. Sango, of course was a different story. She lay awake, watching his moonlight bathed face as he softly snored the night away, wondering if he'd remember the whole incident in the morning._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Miroku came back to the real world, he noticed that Kagome was looking at him rather strangely.

She had tears running down her cheeks. In contrast, Inuyasha and Sota registered looks of slight disgust on their faces. All of this was quite different to the slightly nostalgic smile he'd been sporting.

"That," Kagome sobbed. "Was the saddest movie I ever saw. How on earth can you look so happy?"

"Girls!" snorted Inuyasha. "Only a girl can cry at something so lame."


	7. Miroku's First Car Trip

**Small author's note for this chapter: This is a really short chapter, I didn't plan on making a new chapter yet but these ideas refused to leave my head. It doesn't really advance the story all that much. Also there is a reference to Kagome writing books based on her experiences-- just to clarify I don't mean that she actually penned the manga. Since the manga is about Kagome's life, it wouldn't even exist in her reality. Plus I intended for her to be a novellist, and not a manga artist. **

**Also, to one of my reviewers whose name escapes me right now: I reeeally wish I would have thought of that, regarding the value of money from Miroku's time. I'm kicking myself!! By rights, yes he'd be quite rich because coin collectors would be trampling each other to get these 500 year old coins in such good condition. But it doesn't fit in the story now because of certain plot events yet to occur, which influence certain very important plot events also yet to occur. I suppose it shows just how true my "I haven't researched anything" statement is!**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Don't worry, everyone," said Kagome as all three crammed themselves into her bedroom again. "This is the last night we'll have to do this. We're going to my house tomorrow, so you'll have your own room, Miroku."

"As long as there's a bed like this in it, I'll be happy," said Miroku blissfully, snuggling himself into the duvet.

"It's nice to stay here for a while, though," Kagome mused sleepily. "Sota's growing up…I wish I could be around for him and do 'big sister' things more."

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed, eager for her to be quiet so he could sleep. "We come here every month on our way to the well. I don't know why you even bought a house…every month we spend a week in the Feudal era, and a week in this place. We're never home."

Kagome smiled at him. "I know you like it. Before, when you were a half demon, you didn't belong anywhere. Now you have three places where you belong."

"Aw, Kagome," howled Inuyasha, starting to blush. "Why did you have to say something so lame? You make me sound like such a girl!" It was true, he had to admit that it was true. He was so happy in his heart to have somewhere he belonged. But he would never ever say it out loud, much less in front of his _guy_ friends! Not that Miroku would have noticed right now. In fact, Kagome could stand up and announce that Inuyasha likes to wear pretty pink dresses, and Miroku would have been none the wiser.

He was happily asleep. It wasn't long before Kagome and Inuyasha were too.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kagome looked at Miroku. She eyed his "worldly possessions" he held in his hands, namely his staff and the cloth bundle holding the little odds and ends he kept for sentimental purposes.

"Gee Miroku," she said dryly, "You have too much stuff. I don't think I'm going to be able to fit all that in the car."

Miroku's face fell. "Oh…" He held out his staff. "I suppose I could leave this behind, if I had to…"

Kagome laughed. "I'm only kidding, silly! It was a joke, you see, because you hardly have any things…" Miroku didn't look like he was getting the joke at all, in fact he looked rather perplexed. "Oh never mind. It's okay, you can bring everything."

Miroku breathed a small sigh of relief.

Inuyasha bounded ahead of everyone and skidded to a stop next to a shiny black rather large object that Miroku found bizarre. He patted the object, which made a "clunk, clunk" sound.

"This is a car," announced Inuyasha. "Remember, those things I told you about, that smell but they take you places?"

"Oh," was all Miroku could manage to say.

Inuyasha pointed to the emblem on the bonnet (US readers, it's the hood) of the car. "See this," he crowed. "This says B-M-W. Know what that means? It means this car cost Kagome a lot of money. Want to know how she got all that money?" Inuyasha continued on, oblivious to the fact that Kagome was frantically waving her arms about, silently mouthing for him to Shut Up! If there was ever a time she wished she could "sit" him, now was it!

"Kagome wrote a bunch of stories all about me! That's how." Inuyasha said folding his arms proudly. "People in this time are so dumb, they think demons aren't even real. So Kagome wrote down all the stuff that happened, and said she made it up out of her head and now she has a lot of money."

Miroku's vanity got the better of him. "Um, Kagome…am _I_ in your stories?"

Suddenly Kagome gave a forced laugh and shoved Miroku in the direction of the car. "Come on everybody, lets get moving. We want to get on the road before traffic starts."

Seeing that Kagome was pushing Miroku to the direction of the front seat, which everyone knew was _Inuyasha's_ seat, Inuyasha protested loudly. He was overruled by Kagome, who had decided that she wanted the pleasantly quiet Miroku next to her for this trip, rather than the music-obsessed Inuyasha who insisted on singing along to every song regardless of whether he knew the words or not. Of course, the official reason she gave was that it was only fair, given that it was Miroku's first time in the car, that he should sit in the spot affording the best view.

This did end up being a decision she regretted for the duration of the car journey.

"I've never seen so many buildings in one place," said Miroku in awe, stretching himself so far forward his nose pressed against the windscreen, completely making a mockery of the seatbelt.

"Miroku. Sit. Down." Kagome growled through clenched teeth. "I need to see if any cars are coming so I can turn." And now there was a nose print on her nice clean windscreen. Just great.

"Sorry!" he said, twisting himself around in the seat to get a better view out the back window instead. Kagome sighed. Maybe she should view this as practise for when she had kids. Of course, her kids wouldn't be the size of an adult male, with voluminous robes that added even worse to the view obstruction.

"Miroku, face forward," she ordered. "If I crash right now, you'd be really hurt sitting like that."

"What's a crash?" Asked Miroku, settling back into his seat. Then, he held his head in his hands. "Oh, dear, that made me dizzy."

"You're not going to be sick in my car are you?" asked Kagome in alarm.

"I dare you!" shouted Inuyasha in delight from the back seat. "I dare you to puke in Kagome's car!"

"Inuyasha, if you don't shut up right now, I'm going to stop this car and come back there!" warned Kagome. Then the thought struck her.

This was probably the closest thing to what it would be like to have children. She had to wonder, would she be able to handle kids if she couldn't handle her husband without threatening to pound him. And, would she even have the energy to look after children, after looking after _these _two?

"Wow!" shouted Miroku, as a large lorry trundled past. "Look at the size of that thing! What is that?" He twisted around in his seat again to get a better view.

"I can't see the traffic through your backside," sighed Kagome, then gave up. After all, she couldn't begrudge him his amazement at his first time seeing so many things.


	8. Living In Luxury

"Here we are," said Kagome. "This…is home."

"Incredible," whispered Miroku in awe, while awkwardly trying to figure out how to extract himself from the car.

Kagome rushed ahead to open the front door. "Inuyasha, can you close the gate please?" she called. But, Inuyasha had other plans. Rushing past her, he shouted: "No way, I gotta pee. You do it."

With one foot on the ground, and one foot folded underneath himself on the car seat, Miroku lunged forward in one large attempt to remove himself from the seat. If he hadn't kept his grip firmly on his staff, the attempt probably might have been more successful. As it was, however, the staff wedged itself between the seats, and Miroku ended up on his face in the grass. He picked himself up, managing to maintain a dignified expression, despite the less than dignified position he'd just found himself in. After brushing the dirt on his robes, he resumed his resolute battle with his staff, which seemed determined to thwart him in all his efforts to get it out of the car.

With one final and determined pull, the staff gave up its fight and came out with a fierce jingling. Kagome watched this scene, frustrated by Miroku's complete inability to pick up her subliminal messages she was sending to him to "come inside before someone sees you!" Miroku had flat out refused to put on any modern clothes today, insisting that he wanted to be comfortable. She had conceded for today, reckoning that nobody would really notice as they were all in the car. But with the almighty scene that he was now making in the driveway, Kagome was getting really anxious.

And, fate proved her right. At the very moment she had that thought, her neighbour walking a dog passed by the open gate. Of course it would be her, the nosiest woman on the street!

The woman poked her head inside the gate.

"Oh, hello there," she addressed Miroku. "You must be a friend of that Kagome's." She looked at him up and down. "And what would that get-up be all about? Are you into cosplay, or something?"

Miroku looked at her blankly.

"Miroku! Important telephone call!" shouted Kagome from the doorway. Then she realised…he didn't know what a telephone call even was yet!

Poor Miroku's head swivelled back and forth between the two women, both of whom seemed to be speaking a foreign language to him. Finally he decided that, whatever Kagome was on about, at least she was a familiar face so he would trust her on this one.

"Oh!" gasped Miroku, having stepped into the house. He was so lost for words he could only repeat it: "Oh!" He looked around himself in wonderment. "Kagome, this is-this is amazing. This is luxury beyond the wildest dreams of even the richest lords of my era."

"Well thanks," Kagome said with a little laugh. "But it's nothing, really."

Inuyasha snorted. "No point in being modest. Not everybody here has a house like we do. It's 'cause we have so much money, that we can have a house like this."

"Inuyasha, exactly how many times are you going to mention money…" sighed Kagome.

Miroku seemed frozen, with an odd smile on his face.

"And you guys are going to let me live here?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes as Miroku's eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Miroku sniffed, clasping his hands together.

And if that wasn't bad enough, he finished that sentence by giving a firm hug to Inuyasha.

"Arrrgh! Get off me!" howled Inuyasha. "Man, you have turned into some wimp, you know that?" With a mischevious grin, he snatched Miroku's staff out of his hands, and clunked Miroku over the head with it.

"Kagome! Inuyasha hit me!"

"Yeah," sneered Inuyasha. "So what are you going to do about it, wimp?"

Miroku pushed up his sleeves. Which was pointless really, because they fell right down again. But he just intended it for effect.

"I'll show you what I'm going to do about it," he cried, tackling Inuyasha. "Give it back before you break it! Or else."

"Guys!" protested Kagome in vain. "Not inside the house!"

It was to be expected, Kagome supposed. Maybe it was some sort of "male bonding" thing. At any rate, those two always seemed to need some sort of outlet for their energy now that they weren't directing it at Naraku. The little spat currently going on in her living room reminded her of those better days-those few years between Naraku's defeat and Sango's death when Inuyasha and Miroku were just two carefree friends with nothing better to do than tease each other senseless.

She missed those days.

And she wondered if Inuyasha missed them too. He hadn't made many friends in her time, and she knew he'd missed Miroku. There was something in Inuyasha's eyes these past few days since Miroku had returned with them, something that she couldn't describe, but it was a change for the better.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Is it safe to leave you two alone?" Kagome asked. Although Miroku and Inuyasha had been quiet since their play fight a few hours earlier, she was a bit wary about trusting them. She eyed Inuyasha cautiously. "I have to go to a dinner meeting with some people who want to buy the film rights to my book…can I trust you to help Miroku get his dinner?"

"Sure," Inuyasha said dismissively.

"And I mean a real dinner. Not one of those microwave things. Or, heaven forbid, instant noodles again."

"I like instant noodles," Miroku said lazily.

"Okay, whatever," said Kagome, turning on her heels. "I just want everything to be in one piece when I get back."

Inuyasha waited for the sound of Kagome's car leaving before leaping to his feet and announcing: "Okay I am going to teach you the most important thing about living in this time!"

_Next chapter: What is the most important thing about living in modern times?_


	9. Male Bonding

_These chapters are getting shorter and shorter! This one was originally twice as long, but I broke it in half at a specific spot because I felt it had better effect ending on that specific line. Hopefully nobody minds, this way you can read it quicker! Although I seem to be taking forever to get to the actual point of the story, ie what I wrote the summary about! My love is character interaction and development so I get a bit bogged down in that sometimes!_

"This is called an electric kettle," Inuyasha announced, holding the kettle in question as if he were the Lovely Presenter displaying the grand prize on a cheap 70's game show.

"Er, it's very nice," Miroku said, not sure how else to respond.

"Shut up and listen to me. After all, I'm the expert here. Don't forget, I've lived in this realm for five years so I know pretty much everything there is to know. Anyway," he continued. "This is the most useful thing that you will find in this time. Well, besides cars. You do this," he said, while pressing down the button on the top. "And a few seconds later you have hot water…for noodles, or for tea, or for-" he licked his lips. "Hot chocolate!"

Inuyasha took two packages of instant noodles, and two strange (to Miroku's eyes) cups from the cupboards. After filling the noodles with steaming water, he spooned a brown substance into one of the cups, and filled it with water. Then he turned to Miroku. "I suppose you want tea with your noodles?"

Miroku pointed to Inuyasha's steaming cup. "What's in that? It smells divine!" He leaned close to the cup to appreciate the aroma wafting from it in the soft tendrils of steam.

"Get your face outta my cup! That's called coffee. Some people in this time drink that instead of tea. It's really great."

"Can I try some of that please?"

"Whatever," said Inuyasha, spooning some of the brown granules into the second cup. "Milk or sugar?"

"Huh? You decide for me, I suppose."

After making the second cup of coffee, Inuyasha grabbed his own cup and noodles and nodded towards the ones still sitting on the counter. "That's yours," he said.

Unfortunately, Inuyasha had failed to instruct Miroku on the proper way to handle a modern coffee mug. As Miroku reached out and wrapped his hands around the sides of the hot mug, Inuyasha shouted out "No! Use the handle!"

But it was too late. He just watched helplessly as Miroku withdrew his burnt hands in sudden shock, and the cup smashed to the ground, sending shards of ceramic and splashes of coffee everywhere.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," exclaimed Miroku.

"Nice move, Miroku. Now Kagome is gonna kill me!"

"But it was my fault, not yours," said Miroku, bending down to pick up the pieces of broken coffee mug.

"But I'm the one who's supposed to know better. Don't touch those," Inuyasha scolded sharply, standing on Miroku's hand. "You'll cut yourself that way."

"Which would somehow be worse than you breaking my fingers?" he grumbled, caressing the offended hand. "I'm so sorry for this Inuyasha. Tell Kagome I'll find a way to get her a new one."

"The only way," said Inuyasha while sweeping the floor. "To be able to buy a new cup, you'd have to earn some money. And the only way to do that is to get a job. Which is hard, and why would you want to when you don't need to?"

"My first day in Kagome's house, and I've already smashed up one of her possessions."

This brought a laugh from Inuyasha. Miroku looked at him quizzically.

"Don't even worry about it," he said with a smile. "On Kagome's first day in our time, she smashed the Sacred Jewel. That's way worse, so she can't even _try _to yell at you!"

Miroku looked at the floor. "I really…it's just that I'm starting to wonder if I'm cut out for living in this time. Everything is so unfamiliar. The clothes, the food, even those things-what were they called again?-chairs. I doubt I'll ever get used to it. I'm starting to think maybe I should just go back."

"Don't be stupid!" barked Inuyasha with a ferocity that startled, and somewhat frightened, Miroku. Then his face softened. "Look," he said. "I felt the exact same way when I first came here. I had to learn to be human, and I had to get all involved with Kagome's family and stuff. I hated it."

"Are you saying you don't hate it now?"

Inuyasha thought for a moment. "Come here, I want to show you something."

He led Miroku through the sitting-room, out the back door. Just outside sat an area of the garden, landscaped in the "natural style", to look like an area of wild plant life complete down to a small stream trickling through it. He plonked himself down on a large grey rock, and motioned for Miroku to do the same.

"Kagome made this place for me when I missed home a lot. I can come out here, and it feels like being in the forest."

"Very tranquil," mused Miroku, dipping his fingers into the water.

"My point is," said Inuyasha, trying to sound nonchalant. "Is that she cared enough about me to do this for me, because she knew how much it meant to me. And you have people who care about you here too. So, don't worry okay?" He paused for a moment, then continued. "If you tell anybody I said this I will pound you to within an inch of your life. But…we fought side by side you and I. We're brothers in arms. Heck, you're more of a brother to me than my own blood brother. And as brothers we should look out for each other. So quit all this stupid talking about going back. Maybe you just need a space like this, all you have to do is ask you know."

"What I'd really like is a shrine to remember Sango."

"Pfft! That's real easy. I bet Kagome'll say yes." He leaned backwards and pointed up at the sky. "Know what's weird? You can't even see the stars from here."

"Hmmm," Miroku agreed gazing upwards, then leapt to his feet in surprise.

"Is it really true that people in this time don't believe in demons?" he queried.

"Yup."

"Well then…what would they call _that_?" he said, pointing at a red blinking light making it's way slowly across the sky.

"Airplane."


	10. A Face in the Crowd

"Hey you guys," announced Kagome as she burst into the room, home from her dinner excursion. "I knew you wouldn't want to cook, Inuyasha, so I brought home some dinner for you two. What are you making that face for, Miroku? You don't even know what it is yet!"

"I'm not making a face!" he protested, then hesitated. There _was_ something that was bothering him, it just wasn't what Kagome thought. After wrestling with the question of whether or not to bring it up, he ended up just blurting it out. "I just feel a bit bad that you're providing food, shelter and clothes for me and I'm not doing anything to contribute."

"Is that all?" Kagome shrugged. She knelt down on the floor next to Miroku, pausing for a moment why he was sitting on the floor, while Inuyasha stretched lazily across the entire sofa. He could be embarrassingly rude sometimes. She'd have to deal with that later. "You know you don't have to worry about things like that."

"But I do worry. I'd like to be able to earn money and contribute."

Kagome sighed. "Oh, Miroku. You don't really have any skills to be able to go out and get a job in this world."

"Sure I do. I can do what I've always done. Surely there are still people who need their homes and castles exorcised."

"Well, firstly nobody lives in a castle anymore. And secondly, people don't go in for that sort of thing so much in this time. At least, not enough of them to make a living out of. And thirdly, I don't want to be associated with a con man." Miroku gave a look of exaggerated innocence, to which Kagome retorted "Don't look at me like that! I've seen you in action, don't forget!"

"I don't remember you complaining when I got us meals and beds in nice houses."

"Well, in this time you can get into a lot of trouble for pulling scams like that. So don't you dare even think about it! At any rate if you wanted to earn money, you have two options. You can either get a job working for someone else, or you can run your own business. Personally, I think you'd have better luck with the second option. I can help you get started, but before you can do anything like that you need to seriously start learning about living in this time." She tugged on the sleeves of his robes. "And that especially includes learning to dress the part."

"Why? When you came to _our_ time, nobody told you to change _your _clothes!"

Kagome glared at him. He hastily held up his hands and apologised.

"Anyway," Kagome said. "I'm going to put this in the fridge if nobody wants to eat right now. Miroku, if you're serious about learning how to live here, why don't you come with me and I'll show you how we store leftover food."

As Miroku got up to leave, Inuyasha stretched out a hand and caught him by the back of his robes.

"That was great," grinned Inuyasha. "What you just said to Kagome. Man, I wish you were around when she was making me learn how to wear these stupid modern clothes. I never thought of saying that."

"I can't believe you of all people gave in, Inuyasha. I didn't think you'd have given up your old clothes without a fight. I'm a little disappointed in you actually," he said with a sly smile.

"It's called 'choosing your battles', Miroku. Trust me, you'll learn about that soon enough."

"As for me," Miroku said, folding his arms resolutely, "She'll never get me into those strange clothes. The modern world is just going to have to take me as I am."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

The next morning it was a different tune.

Inuyasha howled with laughter as Miroku scratched his arms desperately in protest at wearing the knitted black jumper.

"Hey, Miroku! I thought the modern world was going to have to take you as you were? How did you change your mind so fast?"

"Shut up," Miroku growled through gritted teeth, moving the attention of his scratching to his shoulders. "I'm wearing this because I like it!"

Inuyasha snorted. "You don't look like you're liking it too much from where I'm sitting."

"Don't mind him," soothed Kagome. "If I could still 'sit' him, he'd be 'sat' into next Tuesday by now. Now…" she grabbed his arms and pinned them firmly to his sides. "I'm going to need you to stop scratching, okay? See! You look so nice! I did a good job picking out those clothes for you, didn't I? I told you I have a good eye for fashion."

"If that's true, why are you wearing _that_?" laughed Inuyasha, leaping out of the path of a flung hairbrush with an agility that betrayed his demon past. "Kidding! Kidding!"

Miroku exhaled slowly. To the others it seemed to be a gesture of frustration, but were they able to hear inside his mind, they would have realised that he was actually reciting a small reminder to himself about the importance of patience.

"What are you putting on me now?" Miroku asked in alarm. He was beginning to get the idea that he was nothing more than a life-sized doll for Kagome to play dress-up on. As long as she didn't start doing his hair, he'd be fine.

Kagome gave Miroku a look that, out of all the words in the English language, could only possibly be described as "duh".

"It's a coat," she said. "Because it's November."

"It doesn't allow for much movement in the arms does it?" he complained. A secondary problem was that he now found himself unable to find a way to scratch his arms, which were now itching something fierce.

"Tough," said Kagome, winding a scarf around his neck. Then, she stepped back to admire her own handiwork. "Nice," she purred. "I always had a feeling you'd look really handsome in modern clothes."

"Hey! Husband in the room!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Relax, will you," said Kagome. "Okay, Miroku, you're ready now. Will you two be back before dinner?"

"I'm sure we will," said Miroku. "After all, how long could it take to…what was it we were going to do again?"

"Christmas shopping," answered Inuyasha.

"Ah. And…"

Sensing the impending question, Kagome rushed in with the answer. "It's a western holiday. Inuyasha saw it on a foreign TV show, and he insisted that we _must_ celebrate it. Mostly because he likes getting gifts."

"Excuse me, I like going shopping and picking out stuff for you! Don't make me sound all selfish. I like buying lots of gifts for everyone."

As soon as Miroku and Inuyasha were out of Kagome's earshot, Inuyasha leaned over to Miroku and whispered "Anybody you buy a gift for, has to give you one back. So it's best to buy lots and lots of gifts so you get lots and lots back."

"Wait!" called Kagome just as Miroku and Inuyasha were stepping out of the front door. She pressed some money into Miroku's hand. "Don't worry, don't argue," she said. "Just take it."

Miroku nodded. "Thanks, Kagome."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Wow, there are so many people here," said Miroku, his wide eyes giving the appearance of a spooked horse. He held his hand out and mimed carrying his staff. "I feel strange without something to hold in my hand."

"Okay, then," said Inuyasha, dumping five shopping bags into Miroku's arms. "Thanks for offering. Oh! Hold on a second, I can get something for Sota in here."

Inuyasha disappeared into yet another shop. Miroku amused himself by watching the clouds of his breath float out of his mouth. He found himself wondering about the people walking past. Did they ever think about how lucky they were, living in a world with no warlords and no Naraku, no demons and no curses. Perhaps not, he reckoned. They probably went about their daily lives, having coffee and going shopping…he wished a little bitterly that he had been born into this time. He wished he'd never known what it was like to be cursed with the Wind Tunnel, never known the loss of seeing loved ones killed by demons…

What was taking Inuyasha so long? With an exasperated sigh, Miroku straightened up and looked into the crowd. He reached a hand under the coat and scratched his shoulder roughly, making a resolve that once he got home he would hide this horrible itching piece of clothing and any others that even looked like it, just in case. He didn't want to be ungrateful to Kagome for buying it for him but…gyah!…it felt more like a torture device than clothes.

Miroku reverted to people watching again to try to take his mind off the itching. He yawned out of boredom, raising his hands politely and delicately to his face.

And almost missed the girl walking past on the other side of the street.

Her? The girl with the water bottle from the other day? Yes, almost certainly!

Miroku sprang to attention. What should he do? Call her name? He didn't know her name. In a panic, he shouted the only name that came to mind.

"Sango!" he cried. "Sango, wait!"

The girl didn't appear to hear him. Or, if she did, she clearly had no idea he was referring to her. Knowing he had to get her attention somehow, Miroku sprinted over to the other side of the street.

Or, rather, he started to. The combination of the unfamiliar shoes, and the fact that he didn't notice the curb edge, spelled disaster. His toes hit the side of the pavement, sending his body sprawling to the ground and five shopping bags scattered through the air.

"Ouch," he moaned, peeling himself off the ground. Inuyasha, having just left the shop in time to witness the scene, rushed over.

"Where did you think you were going?" he admonished. "Look what you did to my stuff!" Inuyasha began gathering the bags up, checking the contents to make sure they were safe. A heart shaped picture frame had not survived. "Aw, that was for Kagome's mother and all," he sighed. Then, noticing Miroku staggering to his feet, added as an afterthought "By the way, are you okay?"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"What on earth were you guys doing?" Kagome asked, inspecting the wound on Miroku's arm. "How do you get hurt while shopping?"

Miroku winced as Kagome cleaned the blood away with a cotton puff. Although he was trying his utmost to keep his legendary composure, he yelped as she applied the antiseptic.

"If I find out you two got into a fight, there will be hell to pay," she warned.

Miroku pouted. "If I'm the only one who's hurt, how can you think we got into a fight? Don't you think I could inflict some damage on him as well? Because I could you know."

"I'm sure you could. Wait there a second, I'm going to need a bigger plaster."

After Kagome left the room, Inuyasha spoke to Miroku in a hushed voice.

"I heard you, you know."

"Heard what?" said Miroku, feigning ignorance.

"I heard you calling for Sango. What was that about?"

"Inuyasha…" said Miroku quietly. "How did you know that Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation?"

"It was easy. How she smelled."

"So if you met…someone else, say…could you tell by the smell if they were…someone else's reincarnation?"

Inuyasha pointed to his black hair with both hands. "No more demon powers remember? Of course there is the time every month I change back…but I'm not allowed to show myself in that form. So, the answer is no. I'm not going to smell anyone and tell you if it's Sango."

Miroku gasped. He hadn't expected Inuyasha to be able to infer that from the conversation. Clearly, he had vastly underestimated the intelligence of the former half-demon.

"Just do me a favour," he said. "Don't tell Kagome, okay?"

"Consider it a secret between brothers," Inuyasha agreed solemnly.


	11. Miroku's Big Idea

Kagome suppressed the urge to shove Miroku out of her kitchen. However, the eagerness shining in his violet eyes made it difficult to be annoyed with him. Of course it was what he said when he begged her to teach him how to use the oven that clinched the deal in his favour: "Sango always used to say I was quite the talented cook." Who could say no to that?

"Do you have something I could tie up my sleeves with?" he asked, wiping butter from his left sleeve.

"I'm afraid not," Kagome said, knowing that this was going to be one long hour.

"Don't worry, I'll manage," said Miroku with an optimistic grin. He clapped his hands together "So…where will we build the fire?"

Before Kagome could explain to him everything that was wrong with that question, she was forced to shriek in alarm. She tried to shout out a warning, but was so flustered that it only came out as a stammer. By the time she found her voice and shouted "Be careful!", it had already happened.

Miroku put his hand out to casually lean on what he didn't realise was a hot burner on the stove.

He gritted his teeth and only let out the faintest of whimpers as he cradled his right hand under his arm. Kagome marvelled at his amazing restraint and composure, while she grabbed his hand and shoved it under the cold water tap.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she sighed.

"Absolutely. I want to learn how to use all these…shiny contraption-things. And, I'd like to be able to say that I'm doing something useful around here."

"Do you know, Inuyasha has never said anything like that to me. I wish he would" Kagome said, frowning as she looked at Miroku's hand. It was burnt a bit worse than she thought, and was probably going to call for a bandage. As she turned to the drawer that held the antiseptic cream, a flicker of orange in the direction of the stove caught her eye. Apparently Miroku, in his shock at burning himself, had dropped the dish cloth he had been holding onto the very same burner. Which, of course, had proceeded to catch fire. Kagome uttered a small shriek and, grasping the corner of the cloth between thumb and forefinger as if it were a dead rat, flung it into the sink.

The only clue Miroku gave to his discomfort as Kagome smoothed the antiseptic cream onto the palm of his right hand, was a furrowing of his eyebrows and occasionally a slight twitching of his closed eyes. Kagome wanted to tell him that it was perfectly acceptable to say "ouch" if he so needed, but she knew this was just his way.

She patted his arm after she finished winding the bandage tightly around his hand. "Okay," she said with a smile. "All done." As she watched Miroku try unsuccessfully to close his hand in a fist, she wondered if she'd wound the bandage a little too tight…at any rate, she now had an excuse to banish him from her kitchen. Muttering some excuse about how the strain of cooking would aggravate his injury, she shepherded him into her study.

Miroku saw Inuyasha sitting in a chair, in front of a white box bathed in an eerie bluish white glow.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said. "Will you let Miroku play the computer with you?"

Inuyasha grunted.

"Inuyasha," she repeated, her voice changing into something decidedly more annoyed. "I asked you a question."

"I'm playing a game! Dammit, you just made me lose!" He swivelled around in the chair. "What do you want, then?"

"I want you to show Miroku how to use the computer."

"To do what?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome thought for a moment. She'd just wanted some peace in the kitchen, she hadn't actually thought about what possible use a Feudal Era monk could have for a computer in the first place. Inuyasha broke into her thoughts with a snicker.

"Actually," he said with a wicked grin. "I bet I already know what _he'd _want to do. I bet he'd want to go online to see all the-"

"Inuyasha, if you finish that sentence I swear I'll…I'll…only cook vegetarian food for a week!"

Inuyasha sombered immediately and addressed Miroku. "You can play games, you can go on the Internet…" Seeing Miroku's puzzled face he explained. "It's a place where you can look up stuff, or play more games…"

"There's internet shopping," Kagome added, counting on the fingers of her hand. "Internet dating…"

"Dating?" Miroku questioned.

"It's like a matchmaker," she explained. "Only you could sit here in this chair and meet someone thousands of miles away, sitting at their computer…I'm not making any sense to you, am I?"

"This box is like the magic box that summons the delivery of food to your house?" he asked.

"Otherwise known as the telephone, yes. Except instead of speaking into it, you use this keyboard here to write out your words instead."

"So people meet each other for romantic purposes without either seeing the other's face or hearing the other's voice?"

"In a nutshell, yes."

Miroku looked horrified. "But that's terrible! How will they know if they are suited to each other? And what of the traditional matchmakers?"

Kagome thought for a moment. "I don't think there are any traditional matchmakers anymore, I'm afraid."

Miroku looked up at the ceiling for a moment and sighed. Kagome began to wonder if he was starting to want to find a new woman for himself, if that could be the reason for his sudden interest. Then, he fixed Kagome with a determined gaze.

"That's what I want to do. I want to start a matchmaking agency."

Inuyasha laughed "That's so typical _you._ Get all the women to come to you. Gonna keep the best ones for yourself are you?"

Miroku gave an exaggerated look of hurt. "That's not it at all," he protested. "I can't understand why I have such a reputation. I just want to do it because I think it's something I could do."

Kagome patted his head. "Of course," she said, indulgingly. She half assumed that he'd have forgotten the idea by tomorrow morning, or might if she managed to distract him enough. And she didn't entirely have time to enter into this discussion right now. Dinner still hadn't been started yet.

"I'll leave Miroku in your hands," Kagome said to Inuyasha. "And remember, if you two look at anything you oughtn't to, it's vegetarian food all the way."

"You can trust me," grumbled Inuyasha. "I need my meat."

When Kagome left, Miroku held his upturned bandaged hand in front of Inuyasha. "Look what happened to me," he said, trying to elicit sympathy from the most difficult of all sources.

"What the hell do you want me to do, kiss it?" growled Inuyasha.


	12. Inuyasha's Impending Transformation

The next day, Miroku announced that he would like to try cooking again, despite the fact that the evidence of the previous evenings failure-namely the bandages on his hand-were still present to remind him of the whole incident. Which, Kagome and Inuyasha both now seemed to agree was very, very funny. Miroku did not share that view, however.

Inuyasha and Miroku now found themselves wandering among the throng of people weaving in and out of the shops. They had a purpose for coming out here-mainly to get ingredients for Miroku's "special recipe sauce", but purposes are often lost when shopping. A faint dusting of snow filled the air, falling on the two men's heads, the whiteness almost giving Inuyasha an appearance of his former half-demon self, but it melted too quickly. It served as a reminder too, that his week when he turned back to that form was fast approaching. He had noticed when they first set out that morning that the crowds seemed to, well, _smell_, more than usual. He realised that his sense of smell, always the first of his demon powers to return, was getting stronger again.

Miroku peered into the window of a toy shop. A little furry mechanical dog had caught his attention. It walked all on it's own and every once in a while it stopped, swivelled it's head from side to side, and barked.

"Wouldn't something like that be nice for Shippo?" he asked, pointing out the toy dog to Inuyasha.

"Haven't you got him enough gifts already?"

Miroku looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think," he said. "I understand now why Kagome always dragged her heavy bag through the well all those times. I wondered why she always bothered bringing so many things to us. But I know now, it's quite a joy to bring back these wondrous things to make everyone happy."

"Wondrous thing? It's a _toy dog_."

"Shippo's never seen one. I'm going to get that."

Miroku disappeared into the shop, leaving Inuyasha outside. He was out rather quickly, although Inuyasha made it a point of asking him what took him so long, when he returned triumphantly with the toy in his hands.

"I'm getting hungry," Inuyasha complained. "Can we get the stuff you need so we can go back home and eat something?"

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"It's very warm in here," Miroku observed on entering the supermarket, reaching up to loosen his scarf. "It's a pleasant change."

"It sure is," Inuyasha said, sounding half sarcastic, as he picked up a shopping basket and made a beeline for the bags of crisps. (US readers: chips.) Choosing the flavour most to his liking, he made off with furious speed to the sausages. Miroku, struggling to keep up, called out to him.

"Hold on, Inuyasha. You have to help me find the things I need, remember?" He looked around him, at all the colourful things in their plastic and glass coverings, saturated with all kinds of words-some of which he didn't even recognise. And the words he did recognise-they didn't all make any sense either. He picked up a plastic bottle which said "PEACH!" in huge yellow letters. However, the picture on the bottle portrayed a woman washing her hair. His brain struggled to make the connection.

"Can't you figure it out yourself," Inuyasha moaned. "I have important things to do," he said as he tossed a bar of chocolate into his basket. Miroku folded his arms and narrowed his eyes.

"Okay, okay," Inuyasha sighed. "What do you need first?"

"White radish."

On the way to the fresh vegetables, stood the ice cream freezer. Inuyasha couldn't resist the ice cream freezer with all his willpower-if he had any willpower, that is. He stopped in his tracks and reached for a box of ice cream. If Kagome were here, she would insist that ice cream was no sort of thing to be buying in the middle of winter. Thankfully for him, Kagome was not here.

Miroku spotted a bag in the freezer, with a picture of very appetising looking green peas. His curiosity piqued, he reached to pick it up. Then, he drew his hand back with an exclamation of surprise.

"What now," Inuyasha asked.

"It's cold in there," Miroku explained. "I wasn't expecting that." He paused in thought for a moment. "So…it's cold outside. And inside here, they make it very warm. But over there, they make it cold again. Why?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "People here are weird. Trust me, it's a lot easier if you don't think about it too much."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oh that smells great!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he wandered into the kitchen for the fourth time in the last half hour. Although, with his demon sense of smell rapidly returning he had no need to go into the kitchen to smell it. He could have smelled it from the street. "What are you making, again?"

"Nice try," Miroku laughed as he rapped Inuyasha's knuckles playfully with the wooden spoon. "You know full well it's a surprise."

"It's true," Kagome said. "I've been here the whole time and I don't even know what he's making."

Miroku grinned. "This is my very best recipe. I learned how to cook this years ago-when you're growing up with a drunk like Mushin looking after you, you either learn to cook or you starve." He laughed. "I made this for Sango, the night she agreed-" He stopped suddenly, and put his hand to his face. Kagome and Inuyasha fell silent, neither entirely sure of what to say.

"The night she agreed to marry me, this is what I cooked," Miroku finished. "She said that, since I was settling down and doing things like cooking, I was finally turning into someone she could think about marrying…" His voice trailed off and he stared at the floor for a moment. Then, suddenly, he smiled and clapped his hands together loudly. "Anyway, it's nearly finished," he announced. "I would serve it to you myself but-" he held up his injured hand. "So, since Kagome helped with all the cooking, I think she should sit down and Inuyasha, you should help me get all this to the table."

"You're such a gentleman," Kagome said, approvingly.

"Hey," protested Inuyasha. "Maybe I was going to offer to help anyway."

"Sure you were," Kagome said with a wry smile.

"I was!" Inuyasha protested.

This debate lasted all through dinner and followed Inuyasha and Kagome into their bed. Just when Kagome relaxed into her pillow, enjoying a magazine and the accompanying silence-Inuyasha muttered: "I can be a gentleman too, you know."

Kagome lowered the magazine and smiled lovingly at him. "You are who you are, Inuyasha, and I wouldn't have you any other way."

That seemed to satisfy him. Kagome pretended to return to her magazine, but had a thought in her head that she was trying to bring into words.

"It hasn't been that long since Miroku came to stay with us," she observed.

"Yeah, like a month," said Inuyasha.

"He seemed very sad tonight. I wonder if…You know how we're supposed to go back to the Feudal Era in a couple days? I wonder if it might be too soon for him. He's doing so good right now, it would be a shame to re-open those old wounds too quickly."

Inuyasha groaned loudly. "Oh great. That means house arrest for me for a week." He hated staying in the modern era in his half-demon form. Since he was so well-known around the neighbourhood now, wearing a cap to cover the ears wasn't even an option as the silver hair was bound to raise a question or two. Which meant, in effect, that he was confined to the house for an entire week.

"Well, now you have a friend around to keep you company. And he needs to learn how to use a computer, since he hasn't given up that 'Matchmaking Service' idea yet…you can use the time to teach him."

Inuyasha folded his arms and flashed an exaggerated pout. He didn't quite want to let on that he had been placated so easily. He had a reputation to think of.


	13. Kagome's Surprise

Miroku squeezed his eyes shut, convinced that if he shut them hard enough whatever it was that was bouncing him up and down and shouting at him in Inuyasha's voice would stop.

Then, wakefulness began to take hold of him. He noticed that Inuyasha's angry face was inches from his own, his silvery white hair close enough to tickle his face. And something in the urgency of Inuyasha's orders to "Get up already" screamed…danger! He leapt from his sleeping place with astonishing agility, although flashing Inuyasha far more leg than the half demon had ever wanted to see.

Shouting "GET BACK!" at the top of his voice, Miroku grappled for the beads on his right arm, wanting to be ready to remove them and expose his wind tunnel at the slightest hint of trouble.

It perplexed him momentarily when the beads weren't there.

As his brain stumbled into full wakefulness, several realisations dawned on Miroku. Inuyasha's hair had turned silver, he was inside Kagome's house and not some demon infested hut in the feudal era, and despite the fact that he was wearing nightclothes that weren't entirely closed at the front he was standing in what he'd thought was a menacing pose, confidently brandishing a hand that no longer had a wind tunnel.

Miroku sighed as he looked at the clock next to his bed. "What do you want, Inuyasha? Don't you know it's not even five in the morning?"

"I transformed last night." Inuyasha grumbled.

"I can see that. What does that have to do with you not letting me sleep?"

"I can't sleep when I'm in this form. Pfuh, you should know that by now. And since it's your fault we couldn't go back to the other side, and I'm stuck here, I decided it's going to be your job to entertain me."

"Why is it my fault, exactly? Nobody even asked me about going back. I would have loved to go back."

"Cause Kagome said we couldn't go back, because you'd get all sad about San-ooops! Sorry, I forgot I'm not supposed to say that to you. Never mind."

Miroku grunted and sat on the bed, pulling the duvet towards himself. "Go away, Inuyasha. I'm tired and I want to sleep."

Inuyasha pulled on Miroku's arm. "Come on," he howled. "Just play one video game with me."

"OW!" Miroku exclaimed. "I forgot how strong you are with your demon powers. Leave me alone and I'll play fetch with you later. Why don't you go bug Kagome?"

Inuyasha, completely missing the fact that Miroku had just compared him to a pet dog, folded his arms. "Kagome kicked me out. She said she has to get up early for something really important and she needs her sleep till then." He noticed that Miroku had already shut his eyes again. "Fine," he pouted. "I'll wait." Inuyasha stomped off.

In fact, Miroku's closed eyes were just a bluff to get Inuyasha to leave him alone. Try as he might, he couldn't quite fall back to sleep as quickly as he would have liked. Finally, with one final yawn, he sank deeper and deeper into blissful sleep.

Inuyasha sat at the video games console and tried to play a few of his favourite games. However, it was physical activity that he craved at this time. His demon self could not possibly be happy sitting in front of a screen. He tossed the controller aside in frustration and paced around the living room. Then, his mind turned to that thing Kagome was always talking about-something she always wanted to find the time to do…what was it? Oh, yes, painting! She had some cans of paint in the shed, that she wanted to paint the walls in their bedroom with. He would surprise her with that. But first he'd have to move some things around, to make room.

Miroku opened his eyes again. A strange grinding sound emanated from the wall behind his head. It sounded like that time Inuyasha got that boulder stuck on his hand by those monkeys and spent all day dragging it around. His pulse quickened, imagining that it must be danger, and wondering if he ought to go investigate. Then he decided against it, this was Kagome's time, after all, and everything was safe here. He burrowed his head into the pillow again and drifted off to sleep.

Not long after that, he was jolted awake by a far-too-cheerful "Wake up, Mister Sleepyhead!"

Before he could stop himself, Miroku found that he'd groaned "go away" rather rudely at Kagome, who had just pranced into his bedroom looking incredibly pleased about something. No, she looked way too happy, from her beaming smile to her head to toe pink and white outfit, it was more happiness than he could take in his current lacking sleep state.

Kagome knelt down next to the bed so her grinning face was level with his, and tapped him on the nose. "I know it's really early," she said. "But I've just been out organising a special surprise for you, and I think you're really going to like it! So get up and get dressed. And put on some modern clothes, we're going into town! And make sure it's something really warm, okay?"

Kagome pranced just as merrily out of the room, turning around in the doorway to say "And do hurry, I can't wait for you to see your surprise."

Accepting the fact that he was unlikely to get any more sleep this morning, Miroku rubbed his groggy eyes and dragged himself over to the closet to find some clothes. After deciding that the most comfortable option was a black sweatshirt and black trousers, he made his way downstairs where he was greeted by the most welcome smell of freshly brewed coffee. Taking a sip of the coffee that Kagome had prepared for him, he closed his eyes and sighed in satisfaction. This coffee was truly a fantastic beverage. Unfortunately, he'd only managed two gulps, before Kagome pleaded with him to "hurry, hurry", so he downed the rest of the steaming hot mug in one, which was a tremendous mistake although it did achieve the desired result of waking him up.

"Kagome, what could possibly be so urgent?" he queried as he lowered himself into the passenger seat of her car.

"It's a surprise. But you're going to love it. Hopefully you will love it more than I love the surprise Inuyasha is doing for me right now…but I'm sure you will love it."

Miroku closed his eyes as Kagome backed her car out of the drive, which had become his habit since he learned he hated when this car thing went backwards. He didn't care too much for this car thing at all, he couldn't understand Inuyasha and Kagome's fascination with it. What was so wrong with horses, or walking? Or friendly helpful tanuki companions who transformed into forms that could fly you through the air?

Kagome's demeanour seemed to become more and more excited the longer they drove. And the longer they drove, the more she repeated "You are going to love this." And the more excited Kagome was, Miroku found himself feeling less grumpy and much more intrigued.

They parked the car and walked along the bustling streets of the town. They passed by restaurants, and grocery stores, convenience stores, bookstores, clothes stores and toy stores. But none of these places did they stop in. They walked further down the road until Kagome stopped in front of…

An empty shop.

"Taa-daaaa!" she announced.

"Er, Kagome, I think it's closed."

Kagome took a set of keys out of her pocket and handed them to Miroku. "Why don't you see if these fit in the door?" she said with a sly expression on her face. When Miroku didn't, and stood there staring at the keys, Kagome snatched them back and opened the door herself.

"It's yours," she exclaimed.

"Why?"

"You wanted to open a traditional matchmaking service, did you not? Well, here is your very own office to do it in! I was signing the papers this morning. You can't get better than this, it's a very good location. I've done all of the paperwork for you, I've hired people to worry about the money and the legal side. All you have to do is set yourself up in here and go. And don't worry about the money…anything you need, just ask. Any help you need, just ask."

Miroku stepped inside the darkened building and looked around.

"Sure, " Kagome continued. "All this place needs is a little bit of decoration, and it would look fantastic."

"This…." Miroku stammered. "This is beyond anything I ever expected you to do for me. I don't know what to say, Kagome, but thank you."

"Aw, shush," Kagome said, blushing. It's no big deal, really. I just knew that having something to keep you busy would make you happy. So…what colour do you want to paint this place?"


	14. An adventure in paint

Kagome put a hand on Miroku's shoulder as he shovelled his breakfast into his mouth in a fashion more suited to Inuyasha than himself. "Don't eat so fast, or you'll give yourself a stomach ache," she suggested.

He swallowed his mouthful. "I'm just so excited. All I have to do is finish off the painting, and the matchmaking agency will be ready for it's grand opening. It's only in two days, you know."

"I know, I know. Why don't you bring Inuyasha?" She narrowed her eyes, remembering the bedroom painting incident of a week ago. "He likes painting, " she said, in an ominous voice.

"Hey," said Inuyasha through a mouthful of cereal. "You said you wanted the bedroom painted. How was I supposed to know that paint was for the dining room?"

"Because yellow is a colour for dining rooms, not bedrooms. Oh, never mind. I love it because it was such a thoughtful thing for you to do, I really do."

"Anyway," Inuyasha said, stretching his arms back. "Now that I'm back in human form, I don't mind spending my time playing video games."

"Oh, do come Inuyasha," Miroku agreed. "Hey, I can buy you lunch to make up for the fact that you were stuck here all week because of me."

Kagome spun around and glared at Inuyasha. "I told you not to say that in front of him! Miroku, you know we didn't mean that how it sounds, don't you? Anyway, we'll get to go back next time Inuyasha changes. That's due the first week of the new year, so it's perfect timing. It means we'll have time free to spend Christmas with my family. It'll give Miroku some time to get his matchmaking agency up and running too."

Miroku flashed a smile at Kagome. "You know I don't mind what he says, Kagome. I know how Inuyasha has a big mouth sometimes."

Inuyasha folded his arms and muttered epithets under his breath.

"What's that, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked innocently.

"I said, I'm going to get you for that," Inuyasha growled. Miroku was certain that wasn't _all_ that Inuyasha had said, but he felt it best to leave it at that.

"If you guys hurry," said Kagome, reaching for her car keys, "I can drop you off on my way to do some shopping."

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"Y'know," said Inuyasha as he slapped red paint onto the office walls. "I could be doing something way more fun than this right now." Miroku did not answer, being so deep in thought he didn't even realise that he'd been painting the exact same spot for five minutes.

The colour of the paint reminded him of a sunset. Not just any sunset but a particularly special sunset one late summer's day soon after he and Sango were married.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Miroku sat under the tree, among the tall grass, trying to soak up the waning warmth of the setting sun. No other time of year smelled quite like this, a fresh warm smell with the hint of flowers and grass. It was strange how he never noticed it before. Maybe it was because he had the freedom now to live the rest of his life without the constant worry of a curse anymore. Maybe it was her._

_Being with Sango made everything seem extra special._

_A smile came to his lips as he thought of her face._

_His face twitched as something tickled across it. Thinking it was a mosquito, he swept his hand lazily across his face. The tickling continued, and was accompanied by a laugh that was quite unlike any mosquito he'd ever come across. Miroku opened his violet eyes lazily, to see Sango's sparkling eyes and vibrant smile. She held back a giggle as she tickled his face with a long piece of grass._

_Miroku laughed. "What are you up to?" he asked._

_"Oh, just waking you up. I thought you would have started cooking dinner by now."_

_"I wasn't sleeping. I was thinking of something."_

_"It must have been something nice. You were smiling."_

_"I was thinking of you."_

_Sango blushed, almost deep enough to match the glowing sunset. She sat down in the grass, and Miroku wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder so she could feel his warm breath on her neck._

_"Do you know…" Sango began, "You always used to be so…grabby, before. Now that we're married, you never do that anymore."_

_"Because you have trained me well," he answered. "I know you don't like it."_

_"Well now that you're my husband, I won't mind now."_

_Miroku grinned playfully. "I don't really feel like doing it, now."_

_Sango turned away and pouted. Miroku looked on, feeling slightly anxious._

_"I didn't mean it like that, Sango," he assured her. "You know I find you as attractive as ever."_

_As he leaned forward to comfort her, she turned at him with a sudden laugh. Using the element of surprise to her advantage, she pulled him towards her until he toppled forward right on top of her. The two locked in an embrace in the grass, staring into each other's eyes for a moment, until Miroku rolled over to lie beside her on the grass._

_"I love sharing this with you," Sango murmured._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Inuyasha's voice startled Miroku out of his reverie.

"Hey, Miroku! Pay attention!"

Miroku turned towards the sound of Inuyasha's voice, and came face to face with a dripping paintbrush-smearing red paint across his cheek and onto the collar of his shirt.

"You fell for it!" Inuyasha crowed in delight. "I told you I'd get you back!"

"Great. Kagome is going to be furious with you, you know."

"No," Inuyasha said triumphantly. "She's going to be furious with YOU. My clothes are spotless."

Miroku closed his eyes, his eyebrow slightly twitching. He took a deep breath. "Okay…" he said, then suddenly lashed out with his paintbrush, adorning Inuyasha's chest with a streak of red. "Now, she's going to be furious at both of us."

"No way!" Inuyasha protested. "That's way more paint than I got on you. That's not fair!" He leapt towards Miroku, brandishing the paintbrush as if it were his trusty Tessaiga.

"Gyah! Inuyasha, that's my _hair_. That was uncalled for!" he shouted angrily, trying to wipe paint from the side of his hair with a towel. Unfortunately, the towel in question had already been used to wipe up a paint spill, and it only made the situation worse. Grabbing a new towel, Miroku undid his ponytail so that his hair burst free, falling gently around his ears. He combed through his loosened hair with the towel, trying to mop up the remaining paint.

"That is _it_," Miroku growled, leaping at Inuyasha from behind. "If you paint _my_ hair, I'm going to paint yours."

"No!" Inuyasha exclaimed. He was fiercely proud of his head of thick black hair. "Please! Lets call a truce." But, even as he said the words, his paintbrush was leaving it's mark on Miroku's bottom. Miroku indignantly responded in kind.

Finally after a prolonged skirmish, the two men, panting for breath, agreed to save the remaining paint for the walls. Every inch of their bodies was either splattered, smeared or dripping with paint. Just as they finished clearing up the finished paint buckets and rolled up the tarps, a car horn could be heard outside.

"That must be Kagome," Inuyasha said.

"Yes, looks like we finished just in time."

Kagome's shiny black BMW was pulled up outside the door. As Inuyasha and Miroku emerged from the doorway, she took one look at them and shook her head. She rolled her window down and fixed them with a steely glare.

"You guys are _walking _home," she said, then rolled up her window, and drove off.


	15. Grand Opening

Miroku gazed at his reflection in the window of his about-to-open matchmaking agency. He still felt slightly uncomfortable wearing these clothes, particularly the collar bit which pinched his neck in a way that felt to him like choking. But, he did have to admit, he looked fantastic in them. Inuyasha had been right about sticking to wearing the same colours, the black suit and purple shirt was quite flattering.

"I am so very nervous," he said to Kagome, who had insisted on floating around for moral support. And to give him a plant as a gift on his grand opening, which was entirely unnecessary seeing as how she was responsible for this entire office in the first place.

Kagome put a soothing hand on Miroku's shoulder. "Don't be nervous. You already have some appointments booked, and I've seen lots of people stop and look at the windows. You're going to be very successful, I just know it."

"I know. I'll feel better after I've gotten my first customer out of the way. She should be here any minute now."

Kagome gave Miroku a friendly hug. "I'm going to go off and hit the sales. I'll probably make you more nervous by hanging around here." As she walked off to leave, an attractive young woman came in through the door. Kagome flashed a knowing smile at Miroku over her shoulder before she left.

Miroku greeted the young woman, who smiled and blushed.

"I can't believe I'm going to a dating agency," she admitted.

"Matchmaker," Miroku corrected. "Just sit on this seat and we'll find out some things about you, shall we?"

The woman looked around. "I thought I would be recording a video of myself or something? I thought that's how these things worked."

Miroku faltered at the word "video", but remembering Kagome's instructions not to say "What's a-" or "Where is-" or any sentence that would betray his lack of knowledge of this time he just smiled instead. "I do things a little differently. Let me see your palm."

The woman looked confused. "Why would you want to see my palm?"

"Easy," Miroku said, taking her hand in his. "Do you see this line here?"

"Um, not really…"

"Well this says you are going to have a very long life. So I can't very well pair you up with someone who isn't going to have as long a life, or you'll end up and early widow. And this part here says…do you like children?"

"I adore them."

"That's good because this line here shows that you will have three of them. So I have to find someone for you who is also destined to have many children."

"Wow," the woman marvelled as Miroku traced her palm with his finger. "That is amazing."

"See," Miroku smiled. "You don't get that on those computer-type things, do you?"

He jotted a few notes on his clipboard, rather awkwardly. He still hadn't gotten used to using ballpoint pens, and tended to wield them like calligraphy brushes, producing a very strange handwriting style indeed.

"Now I just want to ask you some questions. What time of the day were you born?"

The woman was puzzled, yet intrigued. She smiled and answered every one of his seemingly irrelevant questions.

Miroku stood and shook her hand again as she left.

"I'm going to tell all of my friends about you," she enthused. It wasn't a formality either. As soon as she left the door, she took out her mobile phone to tell her friends about "the palm-reading man".

Little did Miroku know that he was about to become quite a sensation in this corner of Japan.


	16. Face to Face with That Girl

_Small note, inasmuch as I can say this without giving the story away. The character who appears in this chapter, is made up by me, but she is based upon Sango who was not made up by me. So although I lay absolutely no claim to the character of Sango, I do take a little credit for what I've done to her in the remainder of this story. And no, the new character is NOT me or based on me, or any form of self insertion whatsoever...(as much as I'd love to do that...)_

Kagome set a cup of coffee in front of Miroku, who accepted it gratefully and took a large, greedy gulp.

"How late did you get back last night?" she asked.

"I had customers straight up until nine o'clock," he said, with a yawn. "Who knew I was going to get so busy, so quickly."

"It's only been almost three weeks since you opened. That has to be the fastest success story I've ever heard of."

Miroku finished his coffee and leapt from his seat. Kagome handed him a bento lunch she'd made for him.

"Do you have lots of appointments for next week?" she asked him.

"Lots and lots," he said.

"Oh," said Kagome, looking thoughtful. "You do know what next week is, don't you?" Miroku shook his head. "Next week is the week that Inuyasha changes. We were going to go back to the other time."

"Oh, no!" Miroku exclaimed in horror. "I don't want to cancel my customers, what will I do?"

"Well, it wouldn't do to cancel a whole week of appointments so soon after opening. You want to get a good reputation, not a bad one. We can always go back next month."

"At this rate I'll never get to give Shippo his gifts," Miroku sighed.

"Don't worry about a thing," Kagome began, but Miroku had already grabbed his coat and raced for the door.

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Miroku yawned again as he poked around in the bento box with his chopsticks, searching for more pickled radish under the rice balls and sausages. After a hectic morning, he only had half an hour to rest and eat and gulp down more coffee, before the afternoon and evening rush of customers came in. Although he took most of his customers by appointment, curious people often wandered in off the street, and he found it hard to turn them away, so he ended up squeezing everyone in.

Since the previous yawn hadn't quite been enough, he yawned again, quite loudly this time as nobody was around to see him behaving so rudely.

Or so he thought.

"Hello," said the girl in the doorway, giving a shy wave.

"Hello," said Miroku, not quite looking up. "I'm afraid I'm closed for lunch now, but if you come back at two o'clock…"

He looked up at the girl, and as their eyes met, their jaws dropped open in identical expressions of shock.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "You're that guy!"

"You're Sango," he gasped, then corrected himself. "You're the girl who gave me the water bottle."

"The name is Sachiko, actually. But you're really good at guessing names, cause it's kinda close."

Miroku grabbed his clipboard and leapt from behind his desk. He couldn't believe he had almost turned away the girl he'd been looking for since that first day he saw her.

"I can give you a consultation now if you want."

"But, you were in the middle of eating…"

"Doesn't matter," he said, directing her towards the chairs with a sense of urgency. "Er…okay…what are you looking for in a man?"

Sachiko looked thoughtful. "I don't really know. Actually I'm not really looking for a man. I don't even know why I came in here…I just felt compelled to come in, somehow. I don't know why."

Miroku put his clipboard on the desk. "Well then," he said. "How about I return the kindness of that water that you bought me. We can go somewhere and get something to drink. It doesn't have to be water, it can be tea or whatever you want. Or it could be food, if you want to eat instead…" He had the sense that he was babbling but found himself unable to stop.

Sachiko smiled. "Well, if you tell me your name first…then I'd love to."

He laughed nervously. "I can't believe I forgot that! My name is Miroku."

"That's a really lovely name. Your parents must have been quite religious."

He was taken aback for a moment. "I suppose you could say that…so you know the meaning of the name, do you? Many people say it's strange."

"It's not strange at all. I like it. It's funny, I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before, but I know I haven't." She smiled up at Miroku, who was fighting back another yawn. "Want to go out for a coffee?" she asked. "You look like you need one, and I know the best place to get the strongest coffee you ever had in your life…"

_Next time, all about Sachiko..._


	17. First Date

_Small note: after a prolonged dry spell, I'm catching up on this thing so here come a lot of chapters. Thanks so much to all my reviewers. Especially the regular reviewers, Sessho's Gal who always faithfully reviews every single chapter, and a couple others whose names I forget right now but thanks to you as well. Can you believe it, after 16 chapters this story has actually gotten to the point!_

"Oh my…" said Miroku as he sipped the coffee. "You were right, that is strong."

Sachiko laughed. "Yeah, this place saved my life a few times when I had to pull an all-nighter to get an article done. They're the only place around here that's open late."

Miroku had no idea whether it was the coffee, or the fact that his heart was pounding from the sheer excitement of sitting across from Sachiko, but the tiredness from before had completely left him and he felt like he could fly right now if he wanted to.

His violet eyes seemed to sparkle as he searched Sachiko's face. The curve of her cheek, the point of her chin, even she shape of her eyes all suggested Sango. In fact, he thought to himself, if she grew her hair a bit longer than the shoulder length it was now, and started wearing eyeshadow then she might look exactly like Sango.

Sachiko caught him staring and flashed him a grin. Miroku turned away, as his cheeks grew warm. Was he actually _blushing_, like an inexperienced young boy?

"Do you always do such fast work for your customers?" Sachiko asked.

"Er, what?" said Miroku confused.

"I walk into your dating agency, and five minutes later I'm on a date. That's fast work."

"I'm a matchmaker," Miroku corrected.

"I still don't know why I went in there," Sachiko mused. "I'm looking for a job, not a man."

"That's right. That day you gave me the water, you said you were on your way to a job interview. I presume then, that wasn't successful?"

Sachiko laughed. "Well, actually, I was late, so they refused to see me. Yeah, I'm still looking. I don't know why I haven't gotten a job yet, I'm not picky about what kind of work I do. See, I'm a freelance journalist already, I just want a part time job to have a steady wage to rely on."

"Journalist," repeated Miroku, hoping she'd clarify what that word meant without him having to ask.

"Yeah, I review mostly video games, sometimes animes…"

"Video games?" said a perplexed Miroku. Although he knew well, from Inuyasha's obsession with them, what a video game was, he didn't know what "reviewing" one was at all. He had thought that what one did with those games was called "playing" them.

"I know, it's not very girly of me, is it?" Sachiko laughed. She rolled her eyes as she added: "and my favourite games are the fighting ones. The gorier, the better I always say."

_That's actually a very Sango-ish trait,_ Miroku thought to himself. The only thing he could not equate with Sango was Sachiko's personality. Whereas Sango was a blend of determined and demure, this Sachiko seemed bubbly, and ever so slightly brash. However, Inuyasha had said many times how different Kagome had seemed from Kikyo when he first met her; Kikyo being very level and serious as opposed to Kagome's optimism and happiness.

Perhaps, Miroku thought to himself, girls in this time were _all _happier and more carefree than the girls from his time. After all, they had a lot more luxury and a lot less demons in their lives.

Sachiko plucked the wooden stick from Miroku's cup and put it in her mouth. "I just love the foam that sticks to these", she said then, noticing Miroku's astonished face, hastily apologised. "I am so sorry. I keep forgetting that we just met only a few minutes ago, I feel like I've known you forever. I'm really rude, forgive me." She paused for a moment. "You know, my father says that sending me to college in America ruined my manners."

Miroku added the word "America" to his mental list of words to ask Kagome about when he got home.

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"I don't get it," said Kagome as Miroku sailed past her in the kitchen, carrying an armload of vegetables and half-singing half-humming the song that played from the little radio on the counter. "You've been complaining the last few days of being exhausted, where did this sudden burst of energy come from?" Having changed back into his monk's robes as soon as he got through the door as per his usual habit, his sleeves cut a dramatic figure as he rushed from one end of the kitchen to the other and back.

"I had lunch with someone," Miroku sang.

"What, like a girl?" asked Inuyasha, with folded arms. "I _knew_ you only wanted to open up that place to pick up women."

"Yes a girl. And no, that's _not_ why I opened it. And no, you can't get me angry right now because I'm too happy so you might as well go sit down and wait for dinner."

"The whole house smells when you cook, you know," Inuyasha pouted.

"No," said Kagome, "That's just because your nose always gets more sensitive right before you transform."

"I know, I just wanted to remind stupid Miroku that I'm going to be stuck in this bloody time AGAIN because of him."

"Don't you wish you had never taken that necklace off from around his neck?" Miroku said to Kagome.

"Oh, I may not be able to Sit him, but I have much worse punishments for him now," she said with a wicked grin. Miroku wasn't sure what the punishments were, but whatever they were, Inuyasha visibly recoiled at the promise of them. "And whatever the case," she added to Miroku, "I haven't seen you this happy in a long time, and I'm happy for you."

Kagome picked up some plates and went to go set the table. Miroku took a little piece of paper from inside his sleeve. He'd been carrying it around since he obtained it, because he was afraid he'd lose it or Inuyasha would eat it to spite him, or something. He unfolded the paper and looked at it again.

A series of numbers. He had it on good authority that this was called a "telephone number" and if one pressed these numbers on the magic box called the "telephone" then one would reach the desired party.

Across the top was scribbled in feminine handwriting "Sachiko-call me," and across the bottom was added: "Don't forget, okay?"

Even as he lay in bed trying to fall asleep, he held the slip of paper, turning it over and over in his fingers. He read those little words at the bottom over and over again: "Don't forget, okay?"


	18. Sachiko's Kid Brother

"Looks like somebody finally got a good nights sleep," greeted Kagome the next morning as Miroku sailed past her, humming to himself.

"Nope," he said cheerfully. "Couldn't sleep a wink at all. But…"he waved his hand dismissively. "I don't mind. Er, Kagome, I hate to ask this again, but could I have a little help here?" he said, pointing to the necktie he was attempting to tie, a skill he had yet to master. Kagome expertly fashioned the purple tie into a neat knot, and as soon as she had finished, Miroku had shot off again.

"Can I take this with me?" he said, grabbing the newspaper off the dining table, and without waiting for an answer added. "Thanks, bye!"

He grabbed his coat and headed for the front door without even stopping to put it on. Right before the door he came face to face with a very stern looking Inuyasha.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Don't think for a second I don't know what's going on," he said in a low voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's not Sango. Sango doesn't exist anymore. She's dead, and trying to find her again will just spell trouble for you."

"Oh, you're one to talk Inuyasha. Tell me, why did you fall in love with Kagome if not because she was Kikyo's reincarnation?"

Inuyasha grabbed Miroku by the shirt. "I fell in love with Kagome because she was Kagome! I never tried to make her into Kikyo, ever. Nobody else could ever be Kikyo, and nobody else can ever be Sango. Remember that. Trust me."

Miroku sighed. "I'm so sorry Inuyasha, I shouldn't have said that. Forgive me."

Inuyasha released his grip on Miroku's shirt. "I'm saying this for _your_ benefit. Take it from someone who learned the lesson the hard way."

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Miroku sat at his desk and looked at the clock. If the next client was on time, he had exactly one minute and 34 seconds. In that time he could either call Sachiko, or catch up on some paperwork, which was piling up quite a bit now. Of course, there was so much paperwork that it really needed longer than one minute and…29 seconds? Time was running out. Perhaps calling Sachiko would be the best way to go.

Miroku liked the telephone. It was one of the pieces of modern technology he could manage to use. Press the numbers in the same order as they were written on the paper. Easy. He took out the slip of paper with Sachiko's number, well worn through repeated folding and unfolding despite the fact he'd only had it for one day. He dialled her number, feeling more and more anxious with each button pressed.

"Hello?" came the voice from the other end.

Miroku gulped. What to say? "Hi there…er, I didn't forget…" His head dropped into his free hand. _I'm out of practise at this_, he thought to himself. _I used to be so much smoother with the women._ "This is Miroku, by the way. You had coffee with me yesterday."

"I sure did," giggled Sachiko. "I didn't expect you to call me back so fast."

"Oh, sorry…"

"No, it's a good thing."

Miroku laughed nervously again. _Where had his old charm gone, and how could he get it back, fast? _

"Would you like to meet for lunch again today?" he said.

"Ooh, I'm kinda stuck taking my little brother out to buy some new school shoes. I'll be in the area though if you want to say hello to us."

"Well, maybe I'll bring the two of you out? How does that sound."

"Aren't you just the sweetest thing?" Sachiko purred. "Shall I meet you at half past one?"

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Miroku's blood was pounding so furiously, it made him feel so hot he almost forgot to bring his coat with him. He looked at his reflection in the window, the flush in his cheeks made him look as if he'd gotten a bit too merry on the sake. He swivelled his head back and forth, he wasn't sure which direction Sachiko would be coming from, and he didn't want to miss her when he did.

On his left, she approached, her arm resting on a young boy's shoulder. The boy looked up at her and the two seemed to be sharing a joke. A sharp pain shot through Miroku's heart, for this was a scene he had longed to see in a different time, with Sango and Kohaku. And it had never happened.

As they approached, Miroku's eyes widened.

No way. It couldn't be.

"Hi there," Sachiko smiled as she approached, then turned to concern when she saw Miroku's face. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Miroku shook his head vigorously. "No, no, I'm fine. I was just…never mind, I'm fine now."

"I'd like to to meet my brother…hey, do that name guessing thing you do. Guess his name for me."

Miroku closed his eyes, in an effort to keep himself from feeling so faint. He couldn't believe this was happening. "K-Kohaku?" he ventured.

Sachiko clapped her hands. "No! It's Kazuo! But that was really close again. You're amazing!"

"It doesn't sound like my name at all," sulked the boy.

"Be polite," Sachiko scolded him. "This nice man is bringing you out for lunch."

"Yes," said Miroku. "I was thinking it would be really nice to try out that place with the traditional food."

Kazuo wrinkled his nose. "Hate Japanese food. I want to go to the hamburger place."

Sachiko looked up at Miroku with apologetic eyes. "You don't mind do you? It'll be cheaper. You know the place, don't you? It's where you were outside the first time we met."

_That's what I was afraid of,_ Miroku thought to himself, but out loud he said "Sure, no problem!" and flashed them a big smile.

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"Are you not eating anything at all," Sachiko said to Miroku. He visibly blanched as she shoved her hamburger under his nose. "Don't you want a bite," she queried. Miroku shook his head vigorously. Even the smell in here was sickening to him.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sachiko asked with concern. Miroku nodded and took another sip of his drink. At least her brother was enjoying himself. Miroku had to admit, the reason he had for doing this was to live out, in a way, what he was never able to do for Sango and Kohaku. If he didn't get out of here soon, however, he would drop from the stink.

When he did get outside, he gratefully sucked in a huge breath of crisp fresh air. Sachiko turned to him. "Sorry, this probably wasn't very fun for you. Next time we'll go and try that restaurant you suggested. Maybe-"

Sachiko cried out in alarm and lunged forward to grab her brother's shoulders. "Don't you go trying to cross the road without me."

"Argh, sis. How old do you think I am? I don't need help crossing the road, you know."

Sachiko smiled. "I'm very protective of him," she said. "I don't know what it is, but I have this awful fear that something bad will happen to him. I'm probably crazy." She shrugged. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to work…see you soon, okay?"

Miroku gave a little wave as he watched the two disappear into the crowd. He realised that he didn't even have time to eat anything from the bento box Kagome had made for him, and he never caught up on any of the paperwork during lunch either. Oh, well. He could always do that when he got home. Even if he got home at 10pm.

Even if the paperwork took him until 2am, and the only reason he stopped at that time was that the only thing he had the energy for was to crawl slowly into bed.


	19. Dreams and Dreamers

It had been a while since the nightmare had plagued his sleep.

_Miroku knelt on the floor, gazing at his baby daughter in his left arm. Such a thick head of black hair, he knew she would grow up to be a beauty like her mother. He smiled warmly as the baby looked up at him and laughed._

_"Father?" came a small voice. "Don't you want to play with me?"_

_Miroku turned his loving gaze to his son. "I just need to get your sister to sleep. It won't be long."_

_"But father, I want to play with you now," the boy said insistently and tugged on Miroku's right hand._

_"No!" Miroku scolded. "Be careful-"_

_The boys small hand closed around the beads encircling Miroku's wrist. When Miroku shouted, the startled boy lost his balance and fell backwards, unravelling the beads as he fell. Miroku grabbed for his wrist, dropping the baby to the hard floor in the process. He desperately tried to close his wind tunnel, but it was too late._

_"Father…" the boy pleaded as he was sucked into oblivion._

_"No!" Miroku gasped as he knelt on the floor in the spot where the boy had just stood but a moment ago. _

_"You killed the baby," came a voice behind him. He turned around to see Sango, in full battle gear, cradling the body of the dead infant. "You killed my son. You killed them both"_

_"It was an accident," he pleaded with tears in his eyes. Sango drew her sword and fixed him with a pained stare._

_"No, Sango, please spare me. It was an accident!" _

_"Oh, it's not for you. This blade is for me!" she screamed, standing poised with the tip of the blade touching her belly. "You killed us all," her voice rang out as her figure grew into a large looming shadow above him. The shadow-Sango plunged the blade into itself as Miroku looked on helplessly._

With a shout, Miroku awoke. He sat bolt upright in his bed, gasping for air and bathed in sweat. He'd had this dream quite regularly in the past. He had often woke up like this, waking Sango up in the process. And every time she would wrap her arms around him and hold him until he calmed down, caressing his right hand with her thumbs to assure him that the wind tunnel was no longer there and the nightmare would never, ever happen.

He never had the dream after she died. Her death was his worst fear realised, so nightmares had no meaning anymore. This was the first time he had woken up alone after having the dream, with no one to comfort him, and he had never felt the sting of loneliness quite so badly as he did in this moment.

And why should he suddenly start having the dream again?

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"I'm so sorry it took me so long to find the time to meet you again, I've been busy writing the past week," Sachiko said as she plucked a shrimp with her chopsticks and promptly dropped it. "You're good at this, I'm just embarrassing." She fidgeted with her legs, trying to find a way to keep them from falling asleep. She envied the way Miroku had been sitting with his legs tucked underneath himself for half an hour, and hadn't moved a muscle.

"I've had quite a bit of practise," Miroku said. "You're very good at using those things…" he made an odd stabbing motion with his hand.

"Forks? Yeah, like I said, I lived abroad for a few years and I'm trying really hard to get back into Japanese life."

Sachiko giggled as Miroku sipped from his cup, in the same manner he always did with one hand lightly touching the bottom. "You're so very proper," she said. "You must come from a very posh family."

"Actually, I was orphaned at a very young age."

Sachiko clapped her hands to her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm always saying stupid things."

"Don't be sorry. How were you to know?"

Sachiko began a yawn at nearly the same time Miroku did. She laughed. "Looks like you're just as tired as I am!"

Miroku nodded. "I have a lot of work to do these days. Have you been working late too?"

"No…I've actually been having these really weird dreams the past week. These weird things are coming after me, and I'm fighting them. Oh, and I can fly. That part is great, but the weird things are really scary. It's so vivid, it's freaky. Oh, and you're there too. You and I are-" she stopped herself, suddenly blushing. "Never mind that part. But I'll just say, it's a _really_ good part of the dream…"

Miroku leaned forward and fixed her with an intent stare. "Tell me more about the 'weird things' and the fighting."

"Oh, okay. Well, last night I dreamt there was this really huge guy and he flew up into the air. He had a bunch of arms and they were going everywhere. So I flew up in the air and I was trying to get him, and then he just went POOF and it turned out that he wasn't really there after all, he was just fake." She laughed. "Okay, do I sound really weird, or what? I think I watch too many movies."

She yawned again, so did Miroku.

"Maybe for our next date," suggested Sachiko. "We should both go take a nap!"

Miroku laughed. "Even though you are joking, that's a fantastic idea. Maybe the next time, we don't have to go out anywhere. You can come over to my house and we can just relax."

"That sounds so great. I would love to just relax. But, I won't have time again until next Friday. I'm so sorry."

"That's okay. My agency is getting so busy, I'm having a hard time catching up with all the work."

Miroku put his hand gingerly over Sachiko's. "A week feels like such a long time, when I'm waiting to see you," he said warmly. Sachiko blushed deeply and looked at the floor.

"Smooth talker," she whispered.

_Ha, I knew I still had something of the old charm still left in me!_ Miroku thought to himself triumphantly.


	20. Good News for Kagome

Miroku sat on the floor, with his legs hidden under his robes. Having had to sit in chairs wearing a suit all day, it was good to get back to what felt the most familiar and comfortable.

"What are you doing, anyway?" Inuyasha demanded, looking over Miroku's shoulder.

"I'm seeing which people I can match together. I'm so busy doing consultations all day, I don't have time to do the actual 'matchmaker' part of the whole thing."

"So all of these papers is a different person?" Inuyasha asked, reaching for the stack of papers.

"Don't," warned Miroku without looking up.

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed, settling back into the sofa. "How long does Kagome want us to wait here?"

"She said she had some good news. I don't mind waiting for her, it gives me more time to work on this."

Inuyasha fidgeted for a while, then leaned over Miroku's shoulders again and reached for the stack of papers. "Can I see these?" he asked.

"Don't."

Fortunately, Kagome chose to make her entrance at this moment, sparing Miroku from having to further defend his paperwork from Inuyasha's prying fingers. Miroku's eyes were momentarily drawn to her quite tight blue sweater and the curves contained therein, but he quickly corrected his gaze, lest Inuyasha rip his face off.

Kagome clasped her hands together and hopped up and down in excitement.

"Okay, I have some very, very good news."

"We know that already," Inuyasha said. "Just tell us."

Kagome took a deep breath. "I've just come back from a meeting with my agent. She has negotiated a very good deal for me with…" she paused for dramatic effect.

"Oh just tell us!" howled Inuyasha.

"A studio that bought the movie rights to my books!" she shrieked with delight. This news caused Inuyasha to bounce around in exactly the same manner as Kagome.

"There's going to be a movie? I hope they get my character right. Does this mean we get more money?" he enthused.

"Even though I'm not sure what you're talking about," Miroku said. "That sounds like it's fantastic news. So…I really would like to read these books of yours. If they are based on your adventures, might I be featured in them by any chance?"

Kagome gave an odd lopsided grin. "Oh, you wouldn't want to read them now. You should wait until they make the movie," she said, waving her hands dismissively. Miroku found that odd. Why should Kagome not want him to read her books. Maybe she felt that he might not like them.

"Er, Kagome," he said. "If you afraid that they're not very good, you don't need to worry. I still don't mind reading them."

Kagome's face darkened. "What? Why would you think they wouldn't be any good."

"Never mind, never mind. I didn't mean that," he said, backing slightly away just in case…

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How could this be so difficult? Miroku gritted his teeth and whipped the necktie from his neck in frustration. What was the secret to this little strip of cloth, and why couldn't he get it? Thank goodness Kagome came in in the nick of time.

"Er, Kagome? Could you help-"

"Sorry, Miroku. I'm in a hurry this morning," she said as she rushed past.

"Ah, Inuyasha, do you know how to tie this thing?"

Inuyasha looked at him disdainfully. "Are you kidding me? Why would I?"

Miroku shrugged. He never understood why he needed to wear a necktie in the first place. It was Kagome's idea to wear it, and he certainly wouldn't miss wearing that thing.

"I'm going to be home quite late tonight," Kagome announced. "I have a dinner meeting, so you don't have to cook anything for me. See you later."

With a wave over her shoulder, she left. Miroku bit his lip. Kagome had forgotten that she usually gave him a lift to work in the mornings. Now that he had to walk this morning, he would have to leave now if he didn't want to be late. Which meant that the bowl of cereal he had poured for himself was going to go to waste. He poured the soggy cereal into the bin.

Of course with Kagome out of the house, it would be a perfect day to put a certain plan of his into action.

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"I'll cook you dinner. I'm a good cook."

That had been the line that had convinced Sachiko to come over to Miroku's house that evening, though she had protested in the beginning that she didn't have the time today. She had to admit, he was right about being a good cook. Although, Inuyasha glaring at the two of them suspiciously the whole time had made her feel a little uncomfortable. After dinner, Miroku directed Sachiko to go sit on the sofa and promised to join her shortly.

"Can I convince you to have a cup of sake?" he asked with a suggestive smile.

"Oh you're such a devil. Oh, go on then, just the one."

"I'll just warm it up for you."

Of course Miroku had an ulterior motive at this moment in time. But, it wasn't the ulterior motive that Sachiko thought. It wasn't an ulterior motive that anyone who had ever met Miroku would have guessed at.

In the kitchen, Miroku pleaded with Inuyasha.

"No!" Inuyasha shouted. "I'm not going to smell her!"

"Sssh! Keep your voice down. Please, just go out there and sit with us and see if she smells similar to-"

Inuyasha pointed at the top of his head with both hands. "Hello! Do you _see_ ears? I don't have any of my powers right now, and I won't for another week and a half"

"You have no powers at all?" Miroku's face fell. "I brought her all the way here for nothing."

Inuyasha smirked. "I'm sure you of all people can figure out _something_ to do with her."

"Well, I suppose I can't let these cups of sake go to waste."

Miroku brought the drinks to Sachiko, and sat down next to her. While Sachiko sipped from her small cup, Miroku tipped the entire contents of his into his mouth. As his cheeks began to glow from the warmth of the drink flowing through his veins, an idea began to form in his mind.

Inuyasha had known Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation from her smell. That was fine for Inuyasha's case, Inuyasha used his sense of smell to recognise people. But Miroku himself had a different way he used to recognise his own love.

Perhaps he was going about this all wrong. Maybe instead of worrying about her smell, he should look for other characteristics that he would recognise as Sango's. What was the one special thing that would mark her out as being Sango, out of all the people in the world?

He knew what he had to do. To honour the memory of his beloved, he knew what he had to do.

He flexed his fingers in anticipation. Now…

He pointed to a book on the table at the far end of the sofa. "Could you reach over and get that for me?" he asked Sachiko. As she leaned over to stretch to retrieve the book, Miroku reached out and planted his hand firmly on her bottom.

"Gah!" shouted Sachiko in alarm, and slapped him firmly across the face. Miroku leapt to his feet in shock with the handprint glowing an angry red across his cheek, and Sachiko jumped up too.

"Please don't be mad!" she pleaded. "I've never hit anyone in my life! It was a reflex!"

"No, I should apologise," said Miroku. "I'm the one who-"

Suddenly he stopped, his face frozen in an expression of bewilderment. His eyebrow twitched as he slowly turned around.

"What?" said Sachiko, still grabbing his backside. "You can dish it out, but you can't take it?"


	21. Forgotten Miroku

Another morning, another fleeting glimpse of Kagome as she rushed off again. Miroku hadn't seen more than a passing glimpse of either Kagome or Inuyasha for the better part of the last week. In fact, were it not for Sachiko, he wouldn't have had any human contact at all. Well, besides his customers, and none of them bothered to ask him how he was, ever.

"We're going into the middle of Tokyo," Kagome said, "And we won't be back for quite some time. So you won't need to cook anything for us, okay?"

"Why do you have to go too, Inuyasha?" Miroku pouted.

"There's a kick-ass video arcade there, and I need to check this one game to make sure nobody beat my high score."

"Do I need to remind either of you that I never asked to be brought to this time?" Miroku pouted. "Or to be stuck here with no one to talk to?"

Kagome stopped rushing for a moment and put her hand on Miroku's shoulder. "I'm really sorry. I haven't had much time for you at all lately. Well, I'm busy today, and in two days time it's me and Inuyasha's anniversary, and then the day after that we go back to the feudal era-you did remember this time didn't you?"

"Yes, my schedule is completely clear."

"How about we do something tomorrow then?" she suggested. "We can all go out to dinner, all three of us. We can catch up then. Would you like that?" Miroku nodded. "Then," Kagome continued with a wink, "You can tell me all about your new girlfriend."

_Oh well,_ thought Miroku after they left. _I suppose a dinner is better than nothing. Still it would be nice to have them around and-_

He looked at the clock. Oh, no! He was going to have to run very fast if he was going to open up the agency on time! He grabbed his keys and his briefcase and dashed out the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Miroku gasped for breath as he unlocked the door to the matchmaking agency. He needed water and he needed it badly. He hadn't realised just how much he had let his physical training slide now that he no longer needed superhuman strength for the purposes of fighting Naraku. And it made him feel so hot and sweaty, he needed to take off his coat before he passed out from the heat.

Only, he wasn't wearing a coat, he realised. He must have forgotten it in his hurry to get out the door. So he had managed to work up that much of a sweat, wearing just a suit, in this cold weather? He must have been running pretty hard.

As his first client came in, he staggered towards his desk.

"Just…a…moment," he gasped, clutching the side of the desk, hurriedly trying to catch his breath.

It took him five whole minutes to compose himself after that. All of his appointments were knocked off schedule and he started his lunch fifteen minutes later than usual. He didn't even plan to eat lunch today, not that Kagome had even had time to pack him anything. He just needed the time to catch up on work. The price of being successful was getting to him. More and more new customers poured through the doors every day, and he couldn't find enough hours in the day to actually pore through the notes and match people together. He was beginning to desperately need help, but Kagome wouldn't stay in one place long enough for him to ask her what he should do. Tomorrow. Tomorrow at dinner he would ask her for help, and this whole mess would be sorted out once and for all.

In that case, he may as well take advantage of having an empty house tonight and invite Sachiko over. As long as he'd be getting help for his workload soon, there was no need to spend the entire evening working. He could let it go, just for tonight.

He called Sachiko.

"Is that weird guy going to be there?" she asked hesitantly. "I don't think he likes me very much. He kept staring at me last time."

"You mean Inuyasha? Don't mind him, he's just shy around new people. But he'll be out. We'll have the house to ourselves."

"Are you going to cook?"

"If you would like me to, it would be my pleasure."

"Great. I'll meet you outside your office, if you want. Is seven o'clock okay?"

Miroku smiled as he put down the phone. He was so delighted, he didn't even notice his stomach protesting the complete lack of food anymore. He swallowed another glass of water. The sooner he began the afternoon appointments, the sooner he got to see Sachiko.

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Miroku locked the door of the agency at exactly 7pm. He unscrewed the cap of the soda drink he'd bought to stave off the hunger pangs, and took a sip. Darkness had already fallen, and the crowds were beginning to thin. He shivered in the cold night air, and wished that he hadn't forgotten his coat this morning.

At ten minutes past seven, he leaned against the wall, his legs beginning to grow weary of standing. He took another sip of his drink, by now half finished, as his stomach growled angrily at being kept empty for so long.

At twenty minutes past seven, he gave up standing and sat down on the brick planter on the opposite side of the sidewalk. Although the coldness of the bricks pierced through his trousers as if he were sitting on a block of ice, it was better than standing in one place. Setting his empty drink bottle beside him, he tucked his hand under his arms in an effort to keep them warm. With a tinge of sadness, he began to wonder if Sachiko had forgotten about him-or worse, decided she didn't want to see him. Maybe he would wait another few minutes before he left. The cold air began to tickle his nose, and he sneezed twice.

At 7:28, after realising he was shivering and sneezing much more than a person ought to, he picked up his empty bottle to throw it in the bin, and then leave. He threw the bottle into the bin with a sudden force that betrayed the pent up frustration he felt and the clatter it made echoed into the near empty street. Scowling, he turned into the darkness to make his way home.

He ignored the footsteps that quickly approached from behind. He ignored them until they stopped behind him and he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I am so, so sorry I'm late," Sachiko said with pleading eyes. "Believe it or not, I was actually working. I was doing Demon Slayer, for a review and lost track of time."

Fortunately, Miroku being stunned and at a temporary loss for words kept him from saying something involving demons and demon slayers with a little bit of Naraku thrown in, that most likely would have sounded odd to Sachiko's ears.

"It's the new video game at the arcade," she explained. "I was playing it, and I got really far, and there wasn't a clock there and I just…I'm really sorry."

"Do you realise how cold it is out here?" grumbled Miroku.

"Why did you wait outside, and not inside?"

"Because I couldn't wait to see you," he muttered, and let out another sneeze.

Sachiko looked at the ground. "Do you…do you still want to spend time together tonight, or are you really mad?"

Miroku's expression softened. "Of course I want to spend time with you tonight."

"You don't have to cook. We can order in, my treat. It will be my way of making it up to you, a little bit at least." She put her arms around him. "Maybe this will keep you warm."

The two walked, arm in arm, down the darkened, streetlamp-lit street. Noticing that Miroku continued to sneeze periodically, Sachiko stopped. She unwound the scarf from around her own neck, and placed it around his. Miroku stroked it appreciatively.

"That's very kind of you," he said. "It's so very soft."

He stopped for a moment, and clasped her hand with his, intertwining their fingers. As he gazed into her eyes, Sachiko wondered for a moment if he might be about to kiss her. But then, he turned his gaze skyward and, with a barely perceptible laugh, continued walking without a word still holding her hand in his. If she could see his face in the darkness, she would have seen he wore a smile.


	22. Two Hearts, One Thought

Sachiko was glad to get home to her own apartment. Although she enjoyed spending the couple hours she did with Miroku, she was too flustered to properly enjoy it. She replayed that moment he looked into her eyes over and over again.

She closed the door to her apartment and sank against the wall with a happy sigh, fumbling for the light switch.

"Hey, there Kitty. I bet you're starving," she said to the small white cat who had come to greet her with a mew. After pouring some food for the cat, she sank down onto her sofa and lay there staring up at the ceiling.

This man that she had only known for a short period of time-was he her boyfriend? Was he just someone who brought her out sometimes and nothing more? What on earth did he think of her?

Owing to the fact that she seemed to babble uncontrollably around him, he'd probably learned a lot more about her, than she had learned of him. He was surprisingly reticent about his past, and the only information she had gotten was that his parents had died when he was young. When, or how, she didn't know. His elegant manners and large house seemed to suggest that he came from a family of means, and probably a very traditional one at that, given his preference for traditional Japanese things over the modern.

What must he think of her, a modern girl through and through with little knowledge of the traditional way of life? Maybe she was too different, for him to consider her as a serious girlfriend. She couldn't cook, and she couldn't even sit at a Japanese-style table for five minutes without her legs falling asleep. She had been away from Japan for too long, perhaps.

And there was the dilemma. She had spent her life feeling like she was missing something, and spent all her time in pursuit of that. Foregoing her father's wishes to study medicine like the rest of the family, she went off to foreign lands to try and find that thing that would make her life feel complete. Neither the parties in the city, nor trekking through the jungle had filled that hole.

Until she met _him_. It was only when she was with Miroku that she felt complete, that maybe this is what she had been looking for all that time. They lived in the same town and yet when she was apart from him it felt like they were at opposite ends of the earth. Sachiko buried her face in the scarf that she had let Miroku wear during the walk to his house. It had been close to his skin long enough to pick up some of his scent. He had a unique scent that was unlike any other man she'd met. No aftershave, no cologne-just pure and natural man.

She thought of his face again in that brief moment after she had put the scarf around his neck. The way he looked at her as if he were going to kiss her-but stopped short of doing so. The look in his eyes warmed her to the very core of her heart. What on earth had he been thinking when he looked at her like that, and why did he laugh as he looked away?

Sachiko didn't know it yet, but at that moment in time, Miroku had come to an important realisation.

The whole half hour that he had waited for her, he had spent thinking about her personality and how each of her characteristics weighed up to Sango's. There were a lot of things about her that were similar, but many things that weren't-for example the way her hands fluttered around like crazy butterflies as she spoke, and her complete disregard for the concept of time, not to mention her spectacularly unserious nature.

But, in that moment, with such an inconsequential action as sharing her scarf, something changed. When he saw the look of concern in her eyes as she looked up at him, and felt her fingers brush against his cheek as she lovingly wrapped the scarf around his neck-at that moment he understood what Inuyasha had been trying to tell him. All that stuff about the difference between Kikyo and Kagome, and learning to understand that Kagome could only be herself. Sango was someone very special and irreplaceable, who cared for him, just as Sachiko seemed to care for him as well.

That moment he looked up into the sky? That was the moment he had thrown away his mental lists of how Sachiko measured up to Sango, and realised that he was falling in love with Sachiko herself, and not as a possible reincarnation. And the reason why he laughed? That was the moment he realised that Inuyasha had…

Inuyasha had said something _wise_.

As Sachiko lay on her sofa, petting her cat, and wondering whether Miroku could possibly love her, Miroku lay in his bed staring at his own ceiling wondering the same thing about her. Although, his thoughts were chased around in his head by other interfering thoughts about the agency. Clearly along with his physical discipline, his mental discipline had gone downhill as well. He hadn't meditated once since Sango died. Having been taught to believe his whole life that death was a passage and not an end, and therefore was not mournful-finding he grieved so hard at Sango's death ripped his whole belief system out from under him. If he had simply been lax in his practise after his marriage, after her death he rejected it firmly. Although not completely. He still wore the clothes, but mostly because those were so very much a part of his identity.

Still, it was something he should get back into. He needed some sort of focus in his life. After all, most of the years of his life had been firmly directed at killing Naraku. After that was done, he felt somewhat scattered. That of course resulted in his tendency to throw himself into anything he did with that same sort of single-minded passion-including working so hard at the matchmaking agency.

Miroku closed his eyes in the darkness. Since he opened the agency, he had not rested. He hadn't had a good nights sleep, hadn't taken the time to sit and enjoy his surroundings. He hadn't had one day where he enjoyed three full, leisurely meals. He just kept fighting through the work, the same way he approached his mission to kill Naraku.

Tonight, finally, he felt relaxed enough to catch up on some rest. He went to bed early, and though he stayed awake for a while thinking about the events of the day, exhaustion overcame him and he drifted off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Miroku was about to learn that expecting his body to keep up such a frantic pace and not investing the time to keep himself strong wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever done.

He knew something was wrong the moment he awoke. Not being the sort of man who succumbed to illness easily, he had little experience in the matter, but he just instinctively knew as he dragged his head off the pillow that something wasn't quite right.

"Ugh," he muttered as he pressed his palm to the side of his head. He felt as if he were moving through water, that something were slowing down his every move. A cup of coffee should remedy that. And as for the pain in his throat-Kagome must have one of her magic potions to sort that out. That was that then, he'd have a word with Kagome and she'd fix everything and then he'd be ready to face the day.

Now if only he could make himself move a little bit faster. And where on earth were his socks?

"Miroku!" Kagome called from downstairs. "I'm leaving now!"

"Wait," he croaked, then coughed and started over. "Wait, I'm coming now, don't leave!" He rushed downstairs with his shirt only half buttoned. "Thank goodness I didn't miss you. I wanted to ask you if you had something for-"

"Sorry," she said, stroking his arm. "I'm late already. I'll talk to you at dinner tonight. You haven't forgotten, have you?"

"No, but I just wanted to ask if you had-"

"Okay, bye! Meet you at the restaurant!"

"…something for a sore throat," Miroku finished his sentence dejectedly as Kagome shut the door behind her. The last time he had something like this, Sango had spent all day with Lady Kaede learning how to brew some medicinal tea for him, so determined was she to take care of him with her own hands. That tea of hers did the trick too, of course it was helped by the fact that she sat stroking his cheek with her fingers as he drank it.

But, it seemed, nobody cared enough about him in this time to do anything like that for him now.

With an irritated sigh, he grabbed his briefcase and headed off to work.


	23. Miroku Succumbs to Illness

_This note belonged in the last chapter, so it's a little late. A special thanks to WineIXI for the review with the suggestion to flesh out Sachiko's character. I finally decided that she deserved to be a character in her own right, rather than purely writing her as how she resembles Sango. And I'm quite pleased with the result, I hope my readers are as well!_

Inuyasha scrutinised Kagome's face as they stood in the yellow light of the streetlights outside the restaurant.

"You sure put a lot of stuff on your face tonight," he grunted.

Kagome shot him a quizzical look. "I wanted to look nice. We haven't been out to a nice restaurant in ages and I thought it would be fun to dress up."

"I didn't say it wasn't nice," he said. "I was just noticing it is all." He looked at her attire, she was wearing a very warm winter coat, but her bare legs peeked out from the bottom and her feet were barely covered save for small black high heeled sandals. Inuyasha frowned in disapproval. "What do you want to go and wear something like that in this weather?" he demanded. "You must be freezing."

Kagome smiled at his roundabout way of showing concern and looked at her watch. "Where is Miroku? He was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago."

Inuyasha smirked. "I guess he's not too much of a gentleman after all, if he'd leave you waiting in the cold for so long."

"Maybe he's caught up with a customer right now. Why don't you go in and get our table so we don't lose the reservation."

"You go inside where it's warm, Kagome. I'll wait here for him."

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered and smiled. Even though he never had to swing a sword around to protect her, he still looked after her in the little ways.

Fifteen minutes later, Inuyasha appeared in the restaurant. "He's still not here, Kagome," he growled. "Can't we just eat without him, I need food."

Kagome reached for her car keys, clearly livid. "I'm going to go down there and give that man a piece of my mind. And then I'm going to drag him here by his ears. After making such a big deal about never getting to see us, I can't believe he would forget to meet us."

After completing the fifteen minute drive to Miroku's office, Kagome was astonished to see that the lights were still on inside. This would make him about…45 minutes late by now! He hadn't even _left_ yet! Her hands gripped the steering wheel angrily as she swung the car around to park near the footpath. She shut her car door loudly, her brown eyes flashing with fury, rehearsing under her breath exactly how she was going to lecture Miroku when she got her hands on him.

"Miroku!" she shouted ominously as she burst into the doors of his agency, then stopped short as she noticed the odd way he was slumped over his desk Was he…asleep? She wondered quizzically, then noticed that his hand was moving as he wrote something on his desk.

"Kagome?" he said quietly, raising his head about two inches from the desk, before letting it drop again. "I thought we were going to meet at the restaurant."

"Yes, we were…about an hour ago."

"What?" he said in astonishment, trying to look at the clock without moving his head. "Is it really…"

"You look absolutely terrible," Kagome said, kneeling down beside the desk and pressing a hand to Miroku's forehead.

"That's not a very nice thing to say to someone."

"You're burning up. You're not in any shape to go out tonight, are you? Get your things. I'll just ring Inuyasha really fast, and then I'll drive you home."

"I've got so many things to try and finish…" Miroku protested weakly.

Kagome gazed at the pile of papers. "Why on earth don't you hire someone to help you if you're having that much trouble coping?" she asked.

"I _would_ if I knew how! You promised you were going to help me with that sort of thing but you've been too busy lately."

Kagome didn't answer. She looked away, and engrossed herself with dialling her phone. Miroku listened intently to her side of the conversation, which seemed to involve telling Inuyasha to stay at the restaurant and eat dinner all by himself.

Miroku frowned, heaving himself slowly into a sitting position. "Won't Inuyasha be disappointed that he'll be all alone?" he asked after Kagome hung up from her telephone call."

Kagome laughed. "Are you kidding? He's alone in a restaurant with my credit card and nobody to make him hurry up. He's delighted!"

As the two made their way to Kagome's car, Miroku broke into a coughing fit. Kagome put her hand comfortingly on his back. "Why didn't you say something about not feeling well before?" she said as she unlocked the car doors and Miroku settled into the passenger seat.

Miroku's eyes widened. "I _tried, _this morning," he snapped. "But you were far too busy to deal with the likes of me."

"I'm so sorry," she said, starting the car. Miroku groaned as he was assailed by a sudden burst of loud music from the car radio. "Er, sorry," Kagome said, reaching for the volume button.

Miroku sneezed several times in succession, then sighed. "This is so humiliating," he muttered.

"What is?" Kagome asked.

"After all that I have survived in my lifetime battling Naraku," he said with a sniff. "To be weakened so, by a common illness."

"Oh, don't think of it like that," Kagome soothed, attempting to stroke his hair while still driving in a straight line. "You're living a normal life now just like the rest of us. Even Inuyasha gets sick sometimes too, now that he's human."

Miroku smiled to himself. "You've always been such a kind person, Kagome. Do you ever think if Inuyasha weren't around, you and I would have made a good couple?"

"What?" Kagome demanded. "What kind of talk is that? Let's just say you're delirious from the fever and _never _mention that again! Haven't you got a girlfriend now? I love Inuyasha, and I might even be pregnant with his-oops!" She clapped her hand over her mouth but the secret had been spilled.

Miroku straightened himself up in his seat. "What's that?" he asked in astonishment.

"Look, forget I said anything. Please don't say anything to Inuyasha. I don't want to tell him until I'm absolutely sure…"

"You're not sure, yet?"

"No…I'm just a couple weeks, you know, _late_"

Miroku gave a knowing nod. Kagome turned her face slightly in the hopes that he wouldn't notice that instead of looking ecstatic over the possibility, she looked slightly nervous.

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Miroku pulled the duvet up to his chin, as Kagome unloaded the last of the "supplies" onto the bedside table and plucked the thermometer from his mouth. She clucked to herself as she read the numbers.

"Well," she said like a protective mother. "You are going to stay in your bed and rest tomorrow if I have to tie you to it."

Miroku coughed. He was in no mood to argue. Sure, the agency was supposed to be closed tomorrow since it was Sunday. But then again, the work he wanted to finish today in preparation for his week off to go to the feudal era hadn't completely been finished today. But he was having trouble mustering up the concern for that right now. Maybe he'd worry about it tomorrow.

"Here you go, drink this," said Kagome, handing him a small plastic cup containing an odd-looking red liquid.

"Er, what is it?" he said, dipping his finger into it and watching as the syrupy fluid dripped slowly off it.

"It's medicine, silly. It'll help you fall asleep too."

Miroku drank the stuff, though it made him shudder as he drank it. He was so miserable, he'd trust anything Kagome said would make him better. Even if she told him to shave off his eyebrows and paint his face green, he'd be just desperate enough to try it right now. Kagome patted his hair as he sank his head into the pillow.

"Everything you'll need is right here next to you, okay?" she whispered. "Sleep tight."


	24. Nurse Sachiko to the Rescue!

_Don't fret, all. This isn't on it's way to being a MirKag story. His little "question" of the last chapter was merely a plot device to get Kagome to reveal her little secret. I'm just so glad I've created an original character that my readers like, introducing new characters sometimes does not go down so well! I love Sachiko so much I'm drawing out these last few chapters to delay the "big ending" because I'm going to miss her when this is finished._

_A small belated explanatory note to accompany chapter 16, brought to my attention by Sesshokunismine (did I get that right?) and for anyone else who may have been slightly confused. Miroku's name comes from the Japanese word for the Buddha Maitreya (even thought the two words do not sound very similar, but this is true!). Maitreya is believed to be a supremely enlighted Buddha who will appear some time in the future. Sometimes this is translated as "Buddhist Messiah" but that's not terribly accurate, to me anyway. Hence, Sachiko's comment that his parents must have been religious, to give him such a name._

As the rays of morning sunshine filtered ever more insistently through Miroku's bedroom window, he rolled over in bed. He was awake, _wide_ awake, and while he didn't seem to have the strength to get up, it was boring in the bed and he was getting restless.

Kagome had already been in to see if he needed anything. She seemed to be overcompensating for ignoring him the past few days. Truth be told, she felt rather guilty for that, and felt that she may be responsible for his illness as a result. But she was already on her way out for the day.

Inuyasha could often be found watching television at this time of day. Although Miroku did not understand the appeal of television, any sort of entertainment was better than staring at the walls. Perhaps a compromise could be made, he thought, dragging himself out of bed and staggering toward the chair in the corner of the bedroom over which his robes were draped. He had to get dressed, that was a necessity. He wasn't entirely fond of people seeing him in his nightclothes, even if it was just Inuyasha.

Miroku sneezed, and pulled his arms close to his body. He was absolutely freezing. Perhaps…

He pulled the blanket from the bed and dragged it behind him as he went downstairs to find Inuyasha, who was dressed in a baggy black tracksuit and had his long thick black hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Hi, Inuyasha," he greeted. "Anything interesting on the television?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Dunno. I'm going out to go play basketball." Noticing Miroku's disappointed face, he added. "I would stay and keep you company, I really would, but I just need to get this energy out somehow or I'll go crazy."

Miroku smiled. "Have fun, then. Don't worry about me, I'll find something to keep me occupied."

He sat down on the sofa and prepared to cover himself with the blanket. Then he realised that he needed to ring Sachiko, they had plans to go out tonight and he needed to let her know that he wasn't going to make it. She sounded very disappointed when he told her, but she was very kind about it and told him to "get well soon". That out of the way, he made his way back to the sofa to find something to entertain himself with on the television.

_Something indeed_, Miroku thought to himself as he settled into the sofa with his blanket, picking up the remote control and looking at what was on television. None of it held his interest. A sitcom here, a game show there…what did the people of this time find so captivating about this stuff? Deciding a weather report was the best option out of all of them, he found his eyes growing drowsy and beginning to close…

He woke up with a start to find several hours had passed and it was now late afternoon. _Did I really sleep that long? _he wondered. _I suppose I was more tired than I thought!_

Suddenly the noise that had awoken him repeated itself. It dawned on him that it was the sound of the doorbell. Miroku groaned. Inuyasha must have forgotten his keys. Again. Honestly, one would think that he'd learn to remember them by now. The doorbell rang again.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered. "Learn the art of patience, Inuyasha…"

Miroku opened the door with an exaggerated sigh. "When are you ever going to…_Sachiko_?"

Sachiko held up a covered dish. "I thought I would bring you some homemade chicken soup, since it's one of the only things I can cook and-" Sachiko took a step back with a startled cry, her eyes fixed on Miroku's monk's robes. In her surprise, she let go of the dish. Without thinking, Miroku stepped forward and his hand shot out to gingerly catch it before it hit the ground. He handed it back to a shocked-looking Sachiko.

"Those…are some reflexes you've got there," she said in astonishment, not taking her eyes away from his clothes.

Miroku gave a nervous laugh. "Do you want to come in, or are you just going to stare at me all day?" Sachiko stepped around him, still looking at his robes. Miroku glanced down at himself. "Ah," he said. "You're wondering about my clothing. I can understand how you may think it's unusual, but there's no need to be _frightened_ of my attire."

Sachiko shook her head. "No, no, it's just that…this is going to sound weird. Remember when I said I had dreams that you were in. Well…you were dressed exactly like that in them, and when I saw you I thought maybe I had the power to predict the future or something creepy like that." She waved her hands. "Anyway, I'm just being weird. If you show me where your kitchen is, I'll put this into a bowl for you." She followed Miroku as he made his way back into the sitting room. "Oh, and I brought you this," she said, handing him a plastic bag of books. "I know it's no fun when you're stuck in bed sick, so I brought you some of my favourite books to read."

Miroku made himself comfortable once again under his blanket on the sofa while Sachiko went into the kitchen to heat up the soup. He pulled one of the books from the bag and looked at it curiously.

"Hey," he said to himself in delight. "These are Kagome's books! Finally, I get the chance to see how she portrayed my heroic deeds!" He flipped through some of the pages. "No…not yet…hey I didn't know they battled a frog demon! Where do I come in here?"

"Here you are," said Sachiko, setting the bowl of soup down on the coffee table. "I see you're interested in the books. Have you read them before?"

"No, I haven't," said Miroku, tasting the soup. He had no idea why Sachiko said she couldn't cook, this soup was nice.

"They're my favourite. I can't tell you about them without giving too much away, but they are crazy. I sure don't know how that author came up with those ideas."

Miroku raised his hand to his mouth to cover a smile. _I know, because I lived it_, he thought.

He flipped through the pages until he came upon a likely chapter. Kagome had changed everyone's names but he was certain this character was him, exactly how many young monks with wind tunnels could there be, after all. He read with an expression of anticipation and delight on his face, which soon darkened to an expression of anger. He flipped the pages furiously. How dare she…how _dare she!_ He couldn't even believe what he was reading. Every now and then his eyes widened in disbelief at particular passages. He was going to have to have serious words with that Kagome!

Sachiko sat down on the floor near Miroku's head. "You don't have to read it so fast," she said. "You can borrow them as long as you want, I've read them a million times already." She watched him curiously as he settled back into the pillow and pulled the blanket over himself. "I have to ask," she ventured. "I hope you don't think I'm rude. What exactly is the deal with the clothes?"

Miroku thought for a moment. Kagome had instructed him not to say anything of his past life and only to tell people he was her cousin. But, he wanted to be as honest as possible with Sachiko, and it didn't seem like any harm…

"I used to be a monk," he said. "Since I was very young. I gave it up a few years ago, and now I just try to lead a normal life. I still feel more comfortable dressed like this, and I wear these clothes when I'm at home"

"Oh. That explains a lot."

"Does it?"

Sachiko nodded. "You sometimes seem a little bit…out of touch with the world. I suppose if you lived in a monastery, you would be out of touch with modern life I suppose."

_Not exactly true, _Miroku thought. Of course he couldn't explain himself any further without going into talk of magic wells, Sacred Jewels, and Naraku. If her inferences made sense to her, better to let her keep believing them.

Just then they heard the front door closing and Kagome calling out "Miroku! I'm home, are you awake?"

"Who's that?" Sachiko cried out in alarm, jumping to her feet. Kagome came into the sitting room, and stopped short as she came face to face with Sachiko. She stared into Sachiko's face, lost for words for a moment, so much did it seem that she was staring into the face of her dead friend.

Sachiko, misreading Kagome's shock, clapped her hands to her mouth and shot a horrified look at Miroku. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

"Didn't know what?" said Kagome, confused.

"Umm…you're his wife?"

"Oh, no!" Kagome laughed, and pointed to Inuyasha who had just come in. "I'm _his_ wife. I'm Miroku's cousin."

"Yes," said Miroku, shooting an evil look at Kagome. "This is Kagome, you might recognise her name from these books," he said, holding up a copy of the book while glaring straight at Kagome.

"Uh,oh…" Kagome said under her breath.

"Wow, wow, wow!" enthused Sachiko. "You are actually Kagome Higurashi? Miroku, you never told me you were related to Kagome Higurashi. She's only my favourite author. Will you autograph my books for me?"

Kagome blushed. "Well, sure. I just need to get some of the shopping put away first."

"Oh, let me do it. Please. I came here to help out, after all."

As Sachiko left for the kitchen with Inuyasha, Miroku called Kagome over.

"So," he said, narrowing his eyes and holding the book in her face. "Do you want to explain _this_ to me?"

Kagome bit her lip. When writing her character based on Miroku, she had emphasised "certain" unfavourable qualities of his for comic effect. She had hoped he'd never read it. She tried to think quickly for the words to tell him that wasn't the way she saw him at all, and it was just something she did for the purposes of the story and that she _knew_ there was more to him than groping girls bottoms.

"I can't believe you based characters on everyone else _except_ me," he said. Kagome's face fell into a picture of confusion as Miroku continued. "You went through all the trouble of putting a monk with a wind tunnel in here, and he isn't anything at all like me! He's just some idiot getting slapped by girls all the time! It's not fair, why haven't you used _me_ as a character?"

"Well…" began Kagome. "You see…the thing is…it's because…Inuyasha was jealous. He felt that he should be the only heroic character in the story, so I had to cut you out because he felt that you overshadowed him with your good looks and bravery."

Miroku looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded sagely. "That Inuyasha. He is all ego."

Sensing that Miroku had been pacified, Kagome stood up. "I'll just go relieve your girlfriend of helping with the groceries. She did come here to see you, after all."

"It's okay," said Inuyasha from the doorway. "We're finished." He went to sit down, but Kagome caught him by the back of his shirt and dragged him into the kitchen.

"What's all that about?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Did you see that?" Kagome whispered, encircling her own face with her finger.

"So you see the resemblance too?"

"You mean you knew about this? This isn't right. He can't go looking for someone who looks like Sango, it's just strange. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I promised him I wouldn't. Don't look at me like that, Kagome, it's a guy thing. Don't worry, I had words with him about it and he knows what's what."

"What kind of words," said Kagome suspiciously.

Inuyasha shook his head. "It's a matter between us guys," he said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I don't get it," Miroku said, looking in confusion at the television from under his blanket.

"Really?" said Sachiko, sitting on the floor near his head, absent-mindedly stroking his hair. "I love this show."

"What's wrong with those people? Why do they look and talk so funny?"

Sachiko laughed. "Haven't you ever seen foreigners before?"

"But how do you understand what they're saying?"

"You have to read the words at the bottom of the screen. You get used to it after a while."

Miroku wasn't entirely sure he was in the mood to get used to it right now. He had used up the last of his energy, it seemed. His cough grew more and more persistent and he found he had to fight to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to fall asleep quite yet because he knew Sachiko would probably go home if he fell asleep, and he was enjoying the way her soft fingers stroked his face. He also found it comforting the way she had burrowed herself into the crook of his arm that dangled off the side of the sofa…and how she idly drew happy faces on the back of his hand with her finger. Why she was doing that, Miroku had no clue, but it felt nice. His eyes grew ever more heavy until he closed them completely.

Sachiko lazily reached up and rested her palm on Miroku's cheek.

"Mmmm," he murmured sleepily in appreciation. "I love you, Sango."

Sachiko stopped for a moment. This was the second time she had heard that name. It hardly seemed like a harmless guessing game this time, the name must have had some significance to him. Did he have a girlfriend, she wondered, and he was mixing their names up? Maybe not. If he had a girlfriend, she would be here right now taking care of him.

What could that name mean?

"Thank you," Miroku whispered hoarsely, clearly in some stage of sleep. "Thank you for caring about me Sango…"


	25. Remembering Sango's Kindness

What Sachiko didn't entirely realise was that Miroku wasn't talking to her at all. Although her mind may not have been any more at ease with that piece of knowledge. He was nearly asleep, and in his daze, the action of Sachiko putting her hand on his cheek had reminded him of another moment in his life.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Kagome leaned on a tree keeping Inuyasha company outside in Kaede's village. Shippo sucked idly on a lollipop and watched the silver haired half demon as he thoughtfully hung laundry out to dry. The little fox demon, ever wise for his young age, wondered how Inuyasha could keep so calm after having been made to take a detour from chasing Naraku. He wanted to comment on how mature Inuyasha was being, but wasn't entirely certain it wouldn't earn him a pounding._

_A sudden clamour turned the heads of the three. Miroku burst from Kaede's hut and stormed across the path angrily, waving his staff furiously at Sango and Kaede._

_"I don't care what you say, old woman," he shouted rudely. "You're wrong and that's that."_

_Shippo leapt onto Kagome's shoulder. He reckoned he had discovered the reason for their strange behaviour. "Don't be alarmed," she said into her ear. "But I think Inuyasha and Miroku have switched bodies, somehow."_

_"Are you talking about me?" snapped Inuyasha, knocking the boy on the head and toppling him from Kagome's shoulder._

_"Never mind," muttered Shippo on the ground. "That's definitely Inuyasha."_

_Miroku's staff jingled as he waved it warningly in Kaede's face. "There's no possible way that I'm sick. My body is trained. My body is strong. My body is-" He raised a sleeve to cover his face as a sneeze decided to interrupt the last sentence, as the ultimate irony. He pointed his staff at them again, and spun around on his heels and stomped towards the nearest disused stable. _

_Because stables had locks._

_He slammed the door and pushed the heavy bolt over on the door. Sitting down in the corner, he began to reflect on his past actions. He shouldn't have spoken so disrespectfully to Lady Kaede. He would certainly owe her an apology later. And he shouldn't have been so angry towards Sango, just for showing a little concern for him._

_He was mostly angry with himself. He would have liked to count himself as one of the strongest members of the group. But who had been the one to hold up their mission the most times, with all the poisonings and injuries to his wind tunnel?_

_Even Kagome managed to stay on her feet more than he could! Even _Shippo_ managed to stay on his feet more than he could!_

_Miroku shivered, realising the folly of choosing a drafty stable to sulk in, in his condition. He heard a knock on the door, and Sango's voice calling his name. _

_"I want to be alone," he shouted back._

_Silence from the other side of the door. Miroku was disappointed. He thought she would have cared enough about him to persist a little longer. Then…CRACK! The sound of splintering wood filled the air, as the end of Sango's Hiraikotsu came crashing through the locked wooden door. Her arm came through the hole she'd just made, and pulled the bolt open._

_"What are you doing?" Miroku exclaimed. "Someone is going to have to repair that now!"_

_"Well, then you should have let me in, shouldn't you have?"_

_"I told you, I wanted to be alone."_

_"Well if you're not going to look after yourself properly, it's going to have to be up to me," she said matter-of-factly, dumping a blanket at his feet. She sat down next to him, and presented him with a variety of unusual objects._

_"These are from Kagome," she said. "I'm not sure what most of them are, to be honest, but she wanted to help."_

_Miroku picked up a pack of disposable tissues and looked at it quizzically. "This is an awfully small pillow," he said. "I can't see how this would be comfortable to sleep on at all. People in her time sure are strange."_

_Sango didn't answer. She was too busy contemplating what she wanted to do next to listen to him. She bit her lip and looked away. Then, blushing slightly she put her arm around him and drew him closer to her body. Even Miroku himself was surprised._

_"Don't make a big deal out of it," Sango said quietly. "I just want to help you keep warm, is all."_

_Miroku sneezed, then said unconvincingly "I don't _need_ any help, you know."_

_"I'm sure you don't," Sango smirked. "But I'm going to help you anyway. I…I…" She faltered. What she wanted to say was that she cared about him, but she couldn't managed to make the words come out from her mouth. So instead she said: "I want to hurry up and get back on our journey as soon as possible."_

_Miroku looked disappointed. "And I thought maybe you were concerned for my well being," he said. "You know, if our roles were reversed right now, I would look after you for as long as it took. I wouldn't even worry about Naraku."_

_Sango bit her lip and blushed. "Well…well…that's you isn't it?" she said, even though it didn't entirely make sense. Miroku didn't seem to notice the fact that it didn't make sense. He was transfixed by the fact that Sango was absent-mindedly stroking his hair as she talked. This was, quite possibly, the closest her hands had ever gotten to his face without slapping it. He had waited for this moment for so long, and yet his reaction to it was something he could never have predicted. Rather than grabbing her backside in triumph, he sat there with his heart pounding with nervousness, and all the blood in his body seemed to rush to his face._

Don't ruin this, _he told himself. _Don't say or do or even think anything that would drive her away. Hold onto this moment for as long as possible.

_Fortunately for him, he was so in awe of her soft hands touching his face, that his body went numb and he couldn't move if he wanted to. How on earth could those hands, capable of killing such strong demons, be so soft and smooth?_

_Sango noticed his flushed cheeks, and misunderstanding the cause to be his fever, instructed him to put his head in her lap so she could put a cool cloth on his face. Of course, this new situation exacerbated the blushing rather than relieved it as he found his face dangerously close to areas of Sango that had previously been "forbidden", and afforded him a view of another area he'd been slapped for staring at before. The prospect frightened him a little bit, he was certain that at any moment this was all going to come crashing down around him and he'd have earned himself a crack with a giant boomerang upside his head. He trembled at the prospect._

_"You're shivering," said Sango, misreading the situation again and pulling the blanket up around his shoulders. "And you need to relax. You're so tense." She slid her hand underneath his head and massaged his neck. "Is that better?" she asked. _

_Miroku nodded in appreciation and closed his eyes as all the worries and cares of his life began to melt away and he just existed in this wonderful moment. Sango rested one of her hands lightly on his cheek. _

_"I love you Sango," he whispered almost inaudibly._

_"What's that?"_

_"I said, thanks for caring about me, Sango," he replied._

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Miroku woke up from his rather pleasant dream, to a strange pulling on his sleeve. Sachiko, still sitting on the floor with his arm curled around her shoulder, had fallen asleep. And she appeared to be having a dream that was none too pleasant. Miroku lifted his head up slightly and looked at the clock. It was 4 AM? He felt bad that Sachiko had been forced to fall asleep here, just because he had fallen asleep himself.

"No…look out…" Sachiko muttered in her sleep as she shook her head back and forth.

Miroku removed his blanket and placed it around her instead. Drawing his legs into himself to keep warm he drifted back off to sleep.

When he awoke again, he found he had to pick some hairs out of his mouth. Then he noticed the reason why. At some point during the night, the blanket had found it's way back on top of him. And apparently, so had Sachiko because she was lying face down on top of him, with her hands tightly gripping his robes, and her hair in his face.

He tapped her shoulder. "Er…Sachiko? I need to get up…"

She raised her head and smiled sleepily in his face. "Sorry about that," she said sheepishly. "This was the only way I could figure out to keep us both warm." She got up and patted her hair into place. Miroku sat up and stretched.

"I need coffee and plenty of it," he muttered.

"How are you feeling today?" Sachiko asked him.

"I feel just like I've sucked up a whole swarm of poisonous-" he began, then caught himself. "I feel terrible. But I need to get down to the office to finish up some things before I go off tonight." He smoothed his robes. "I can't believe I slept all night in my clothes."

Sachiko looked down at the floor. "You're leaving tonight…"

"Yes, I did mention it didn't I?"

"You said you'd be gone for a week, but you didn't say why…"

"Business trip."

"Where?"

"Not far."

"Where will you be staying?"

"Why so many questions?" Miroku said with a forced laugh. "I'm going to go change into my suit okay? Do you want to take a shower or something before you go?"

Sachiko shook her head and took a deep breath. "I'll help you!" she burst out, suddenly.

"Help me change?"

"No, I'll help you do your work. If I don't get to see you for a week, I want to see you as much as possible today."

"Well, okay. An extra pair of hands would be most welcome." He searched Sachiko's face. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "You look…sad. Oh dear, you haven't caught my cold, have you?"

"Miroku…" she said, looking at her feet. "Are you…are you going…are you going to…"

She couldn't finish the sentence. She wanted to ask him if he were going to see that Sango person, and who that Sango person was and why was she important enough for him to say he loved. But she couldn't. She was afraid of the answer.

She shot him a big smile. "Are you going to eat a good breakfast? You need to keep your strength up!" she finally said.


	26. Boring Paperwork and Surprising Truth

_A small little note to precede this chapter, a huge thank-you to sesshokunbelongstome for your review to chapter 25. That was exactly what I was trying to do with the Sachiko character and it made my day that you happened to notice that! (I'm a big Sango fan, and I did want to bring her to life in this story despite the fact that she's dead for most of it! So I'm glad that I managed to capture a little bit of her.)_

At Miroku's office, Sachiko picked through the pile of papers in bewilderment.

"Well no wonder you never seem to get everything finished," she clucked. "Look at this mess. There's no filing system, there's no order to it at all. Nothing is even computerised."

"Well, it works for me," Miroku muttered, his pride slightly wounded. After all, he'd managed to learn how to do all of this in a very limited space of time, and he was quite proud of his accomplishment.

"Clearly it doesn't, or you wouldn't be in the mess you're in now. See, I always say everything happens for a reason. It's a good thing I ended up here today, now I can help you out."

_And watch you like a hawk, _she thought to herself. _To see if I can catch you calling that Sango person._ Sachiko suddenly had an image of her head of Miroku on the telephone exclaiming "Why Sango, I can't wait to see you, I've been so lonely here pining for you." Sachiko shook that thought out of her head. After all, what could be so special about that woman? She obviously didn't care enough about Miroku to visit him when he was sick, not like Sachiko herself did!

What was she thinking? She was letting her imagination run away with her, and not only that, she was vilifying this woman she'd never met without even knowing her side of things. And she was jumping to conclusions by assuming Sango was his girlfriend. Clearly she wasn't his wife, because he didn't wear any wedding band, but could she be his sister? His cousin? He only said "I love you," but it was Sachiko herself who had assumed it was romantic love and not familial love.

So…why was she afraid to ask him about it?

Sachiko put a big smile on her face. "I'm going to put the heater on," she said. "And where's the canteen in here? I want to make us both some coffee before we get started. As for you, take that whole mess of client profiles and I want you to separate it into two piles: one for men and one for women. That should be an easy enough place for you to start."

As she walked behind his chair, she put her hands on his arms then slid her hands from his shoulders, up his neck and finishing at his ponytail.

_Try and think about Sango now,_ she thought to herself in triumph, before giving herself a mental slap on the wrist for thinking such things. But it worked. Miroku wasn't thinking about Sango at that moment. In fact the only thought in his head as he felt her hands stroke his neck was: _Goodness, the girls in this time are very forward! _Yes, he had been the one putting his hands on women in days gone past, although now that he was slightly older he wasn't entirely _proud_ of that fact. But there was something about being on the receiving end of such blatant invasions of personal space that was a little startling.

Startling, but not unpleasant.

Miroku took a deep breath of determination as he looked at the mass of papers on his desk. He wanted to have a little bit of time to rest before they set out for Kagome's old house tonight, so the sooner he got this done, the better. One pile for women, one pile for men…he sighed. _Come on now, concentrate _he scolded himself.

Sachiko set a cup of coffee in front of him. "You haven't started," she said disapprovingly.

"I think I just realised I'm not in the mood for working," he said with a slight laugh.

"Well, can I move you and these papers to the floor then? I want to get onto your computer. I'm sure we can get a database up and running that makes categorising these much easier."

"Sure thing," Miroku said, gathering armloads of paper and plunking himself down in the middle of the floor. He was awestruck by Sachiko's apparent ease in tackling what he'd thought to be an unsolvable problem. And the way she breezed in and took charge of everything…reminded him of a certain other confident young woman he used to know.

One pile for men and one pile for women…this was supposed to be easy. His brain didn't want to deal with this sort of thing right now. Perhaps he should have skipped working and rested for another day. Still, he was grateful for Sachiko's help, so he kept plodding along.

He'd nearly finished sorting out all the papers when Sachiko announced: "You're going to love this!"

Apparently in the time it had taken him to sort papers into two piles, Sachiko had created something called a "database" on his computer. He had no idea what a "database" was, but to hear Sachiko describe it, it sounded amazing.

"Wanna start putting these all up on the computer?" Sachiko said with an excited face. He didn't really, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings after she had worked so hard on something. And he didn't have the heart to tell her that she had worked so hard on something that he probably would never be able to figure out how to use.

Well, maybe not never. He wasn't an unintelligent man, and he knew that. It was just…right now he didn't care, but he didn't want to not care because that would be rude to Sachiko. And even his own thoughts were giving him a headache.

"You're tired of this, aren't you?" said Sachiko with a smile. "If you want I can come back and help you on another day too. I don't mind, it's not like I'm very busy a lot of the time."

Miroku looked thoughtful. The desk looked a whole lot cleaner than it did before Sachiko came along. And she sure seemed to know what she was doing…Miroku pressed his finger to his lips as he formulated a plan.

"Sachiko, I wonder…if it wouldn't be too much trouble, and I would pay you for it of course, would you want to help me out here…all the time."

Sachiko squealed. "You mean you are offering me a job?"

"Yes, I suppose I am. You've been really helpful around here today. And, I have to confess, it would be nice to be able to see you more often."

Sachiko squealed again and wrapped her arms firmly around Miroku in a tight hug. Miroku's eyes widened, momentarily was he taken aback, then he relaxed and rested his hands on the small of her back.

"I want to go home now," said Miroku.

And thus the moment was broken.

"We could go somewhere and eat instead," Sachiko suggested. "There's no reason to go home so early."

"No…I'd rather go home today. I'm not in the mood for eating out."

"If you want I could cook you some more of that soup," Sachiko pressed.

"Really, it's okay. I need to get my things ready to leave tonight."

Sachiko began to panic. Perhaps he was trying to get rid of her… "I could help you," she blurted out.

Miroku put his arm around her, lifting her chin with his thumb and looking into her face with kindly eyes. "What's gotten into you? Are you worried you'll miss me? A week will be gone before you know it."

Sachiko nodded glumly.

"Well, now that's sorted," said Miroku with a friendly smile, before breaking off the embrace to cross the room to get his coat. "Can we please head off now before I die on my feet?"

Sachiko inhaled sharply, and closed her eyes.

"Are you going to see Sango?" she blurted out.

Deafening silence for what seemed like an eternity, but was only in fact a few seconds. Then Miroku said quietly and coolly: "I suppose you could say that…where did you hear that name anyway? Did Inuyasha tell you about her?"

"No, you said it in your sleep. He knows, then? Who else knows? Hey, maybe everyone knows and this is all just a big joke on me. So…how long…no, I don't want to know. But you do love her?"

"Yes…but-"

Sachiko looked at her feet. "So what am I then? Something fun, for when she's not around? Why do you need me if you already have someone?"

Miroku spun around. "She's DEAD, okay?" he spat angrily, fury flashing in his eyes. "So please just drop it!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Sachiko said, horrified. "I didn't mean to-I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

Miroku turned his face away to brush a tear from the corner of his eye. He softened, and felt guilty for being perhaps too unduly harsh on the poor girl. He put his arm comfortingly on her shoulders.

"I know you didn't know," he said quietly. "How were you supposed to know. Look, the truth is that I was married once. To a girl named Sango. She died…well, in a tragic accident. Where I'm going tonight, her grave _is_ there. But I'm not _just_ going there to visit her grave, I have a few old friends there and I'm just as much going there to see all of them. So you have nothing to worry about, alright? And just so you know," he added. "I'm going to miss you terribly when I'm gone. We'll just have to do something really special when I get back, so we can have something to look forward to. Why don't you plan something, then you will spend the time in anticipation rather than sadness."

Sachiko nodded again, this time with a smile, and buried her head into his arms.


	27. Back to the Feudal Era

_Wow, it's been so long since I updated. This chapter and the next one/two are quite sad and are therefore hard to sit down and do. I hope my faithful readers will put up with these depressing chapters (and my length between updates) because I promise, some funny and romantic MirokuXSachiko bits are coming up very soon!_

"Wait…wait!" Miroku exclaimed, scurrying back and forth to make sure he was remembering all that he intended to bring. Kagome had lent him her old yellow backpack. That thing had taken some punishment in her own days travelling back and forth through the well, but Miroku had crammed it so full of gifts for Shippo that it was really pushing the limits of its seams.

Inuyasha, who became more restless the closer his transformation became, was predictably impatient.

"Hurry up, Miroku," he demanded. "Or else we're leaving you here."

"I would be much faster, if Kagome didn't insist I wear these horrid things on my feet."

"They're not 'horrid things', Miroku," scolded Kagome. "They're socks, and they're to keep your feet warm. Unless you want to end up with pneumonia."

"Well, they're making my feet slide around in my sandals, and it's making me slip. How am I supposed to carry this big bag like this?"

Kagome rolled her eyes and took the large bag onto her back, impressing both men with the ease in which she took it's weight. Of course all those years of practise had strengthened her muscles.

"Miroku, you hold on tight to Inuyasha," Kagome ordered, prompting a protest from Inuyasha. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Yes, because of course I should bear the weight of this bag _and_ a grown man, while you do absolutely nothing to help," she said dryly. Inuyasha scowled in return, but didn't argue.

The field around the bone eater's well in the Feudal Era was still and silent, save for the occasional chirping of the odd bird. Every now and then a breeze caught the still-bare branches of the trees, sending a gentle rustling whispering on the wind. Complete and total peace.

Until, that is, the peace was shattered by the voice of Inuyasha ringing out from inside the well.

Inuyasha's hands appeared from the well, followed by his head, he tried to pull himself up the side of the well. He was clearly straining.

"I won't tell you again, Miroku," he roared. "Stop leaning on me! I don't have my full powers back yet and I can't carry your whole weight."

"Sorry," Miroku gasped, closely following Inuyasha out of the well, struggling to heave his own weight up. He had to wonder how Kagome had managed to do this so many times.

"Are you absolutely sure you're up to this?" Kagome asked, appearing behind the two men. She lithely emerged from the well with an ease that put them both to shame. "You were pretty sick yesterday, I don't want you trying to do too much too soon."

"No need to worry, Kagome. I'll be fine."

"Then," Inuyasha growled. "Why are you still _leaning on me?_"

"Sorry," Miroku said, stepping away from him. Inuyasha looked thoughtful for a moment, then seemed to have a sudden change of heart.

"Get back here a minute," he ordered brusquely, grabbing Miroku by the front of his robes. Frowning, he sniffed Miroku's robes.

"Man, when's the last time you washed these?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Inuyasha, don't be so rude!" Kagome gasped in horror.

Miroku narrowed his eyes. "Just four days ago, I'll have you know," he retorted. "Why do you ask? Do I have an unpleasant smell?"

"No. It's just that they reek of Sango."

Before Miroku had a chance to either ask Inuyasha to clarify what he'd said, or to protest that "reek" was not a word that should be used to describe Sango, a high pitched voice rang out in the distance. It grew louder and more insistent as it rapidly closed in on them.

"Inuyasha…Miroku! Ka…go…_meee_!"

Inuyasha and Kagome, by now used to the drill, steeled themselves in anticipation. There was no telling who Shippo would choose to land on, and it was best to be prepared. Although the little fox-child was still small by human standards, he had actually grown a bit in the intervening years. He was slightly heavier, but nobody minded him still climbing up on their shoulders.

Miroku had not been the target of a Shippo-style dive bombing in quite some time, and therefore did not prepare himself adequately. Unfortunately for him, it was his arms that Shippo aimed for.

"Ooof," he gasped, stumbling backwards as Shippo landed on his chest, beaming happily up into his face.

"You're back!" Shippo cried in delight. "I was starting to think you'd never come back!"

Miroku lifted the little child up and set him down on Kagome's shoulder.

"Are you glad to see us?" Kagome smiled. "Or are you just looking forward to the presents?"

"I'm glad to see you…wait, you brought me presents? Can I see?"

"I don't know…" Kagome teased as they made their way to the village. "We'll have to see…you shall only have them if you've been being very strong and brave and protecting the village like a good fox-demon."

"I have! I have! You can ask anyone! I've been a very good protector."

Miroku walked a few paces behind the group, listening to the banter between old friends. It brought back a warmth, memories of friendship of those days gone past-back when life was so uncertain. Back when he wasn't sure whether he would live or die, and the only thing that kept those dark days so bearable was the strength of the battle-forged friendships between those who had pursued Naraku and the jewel shards. Those very friendships that had given him cause to smile with genuine happiness even despite his curse, just knowing that he would share this brief journey with people who cared about him. Those very friendships that gave him the determination to _live_, to battle on even when he felt his courage may fail him, because he knew it would hurt them too much if he died.

But as warm as those memories were, they brought waves of fresh pain to his heart. Because the most important one of all was no longer here. Sango, who was the true reason he desired to live. Sango, the one who looked beyond all his shortcomings and found the loyal and loving man buried deep inside.

How ironic, that the one who inspired him to want to live his life as long as possible should no longer be here to share it with him.

Miroku shook those thoughts out of his head and ordered himself to put on a smile for everyone's benefit. It wouldn't do to ruin everyone's time by moping around like this. He would smile through the pain.

Smiling through the pain was something he well knew how to do.

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Despite his resolve to be cheerful, Miroku remained in a quiet mood as they gathered around the fire in Kaede's hut. And despite his eagerness the past two months to see Shippo enjoy all the new toys, he all but ignored the little fox as he marvelled over all the gifts.

He simply sat, with his arms folded, staring off with a distant look in his eyes.

He had no idea how long he had sat like that, before he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see Shippo sitting beside him, and staring up at him tearfully.

"Shippo?" he queried, giving the fox-child a warm smile. "Why do you look so sad? Don't you like all your presents?"

"Um…Mi…Miroku? Are you mad at me?" Shippo stammered, trying his best not to cry.

"What? Why would you think I was mad at you?"

"Because when I tried to give you a hug at the well you pushed me away and put me on Kagome's back instead."

Miroku reached out and patted Shippo's head. "I'm so very sorry, Shippo. I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I've been rather sick lately and I didn't want you to catch it, that's all. I'm sorry you thought I was angry, I probably should have said something."

"But I'm a strong demon. I don't catch human diseases."

"In that case, come here then," Miroku said with a paternal smile, patting his lap which Shippo climbed into.

Shippo's lip continued to quiver. "I…I thought that you didn't like me anymore because the whole time you were sitting outside by Sango's grave I never asked you to come inside…"

Miroku wrapped his arms around the fox in reassurance. "But Shippo," he said. "Don't think that I didn't notice that it was _you_ who brought me food every single day. That meant a lot to me. It was a very kind thing to do, and behaviour very fitting for the fine protector of this village."

With a little squeak, Shippo buried his face in Miroku's robes and began sobbing.

"Hey, now." Miroku soothed. "Don't cry."

"I'm not crying. I'm just so happy."


	28. Under The Tree Once More

_This chapter is very short, I cut it in half because this particular scene is so **sad** (to me, anyway) that to have it followed by anything else didn't seem quite right. So you'll have to wait until I upload the next bit to find out what happens next-so sorry! The mood does pick up quite a bit after this, though!_

_My customary thank you to all who have reviewed since my last update, but a _**very special**_ thanks to pisceswater44 for your review...it made my day, it made my week, it made my month! That was honestly my favourite review I have recieved, and don't apologise for a long review...my ego loves long reviews! _

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Those worries had been troubling the young fox-demons mind for quite some time now, and he felt relieved to be assured that Miroku bore no grudges. Shippo glued himself to Miroku's side for the rest of the night, trying out his new toys while Miroku sat quietly and watched the boy play with an almost fatherly smile on his face. Even when night came, Shippo decided to crawl into Miroku's bed to sleep rather than Kagome's, which was his usual destination.

Miroku was almost astonished to find that the child cared so much. But he was grateful for the reminder that, no matter what, he still had people in this life who cared deeply about him.

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He had forgotten what it was like to sleep in the Feudal Era. In the short space of time he had lived in Kagome's time, he had become accustomed to waking up on a cloud of a mattress surrounded by the gentle warmth of a fluffy duvet.

Not, he thought with a groan as he peeled himself up from his mat, waking up with stiff bones and the chill of the morning air cutting through his clothing. There was a time when simply sleeping lying down he considered a luxury, and having the rough bark of a large tree to lean his back against was comfort enough. Had he really gone so soft since living in Kagome's time?

Stretching himself into alertness, he wandered outside to find the rest of the group. He partook in only a small breakfast. He had certain things he meant to do today, and wanted to get a start on them as soon as possible. He knew he had a week to spend in this time, but these things he wanted to get out of the way from the very start.

He set off for the first of his destinations with Kirara the cat perched upon his shoulder. Although he could reach this place on foot, he'd require her assistance later.

His old house. His home he shared with his wife Sango. It wasn't too far from the village. Neither of them had any other place to call home, so Kaede's village seemed as good a place as any to settle. It was close to where Shippo decided to live, and near the well so that Kagome and Inuyasha could conveniently visit everyone on their monthly trips back though time. It was, in all, a place where they both felt a sense of community.

The house had remained virtually untouched since he had vacated it. Since her death, he couldn't bear to even go inside. The sight of her possessions, and the rooms in which they had spent such happy moments brought back overwhelming memories. He had not been inside this house since the day she died. And the villagers, out of respect, had left it for the most part alone.

Even Kirara seemed reluctant to go in at first. Miroku had forgotten that the cat-demon was more sentient than people often gave her credit for. And she missed her former mistress bitterly. Miroku looked at her questioningly, and an unspoken promise to offer each other support passed between the two. And finally, he stepped inside.

Everything was exactly as it had been left that day. Even the cup from which Sango had drank her last cup of tea was lying almost as if she'd be returning any moment now. Almost. He noted with a tinge of sadness that the whole scene was coated in a thick layer of dust. _Now, that shouldn't be, _he thought to himself as he picked up her cup and wiped the dust off with his sleeve. _Everything should be kept looking nice for her._

No. Because she's not coming back.

There were just a few things he wanted from here. Her things, to remember her by. Feeling as if he was caught in some bizarre dream, he moved through the house gathering the things he had come here for. Her comb. Her beautiful clothes that he loved to see her in. Kohaku's weapon-she'd held on to that to remember her brother and Miroku felt a duty to continue Kohaku's memory in Sango's absence. The compact made from shells that held the distinctively coloured eye makeup that she wore. Her cup.

He took her blanket and shook the dust out, waving the clouds that billowed out from it away from his face. He spread the blanket on the floor and used it to bundle the items that he'd collected. Swinging it over his shoulder, he made as if to exit. Then, he stopped.

"Kirara," he said. "I'm very sorry, but may I have a moment alone?" The cat understood, and with a solemn mew, went off to do her own contemplation. Miroku wandered over to the large tree, the same tree under which he and Sango had shared many wonderful moments. It had been their custom to sit under the tree as the sun set, usually entwined in one another's arms, sometimes discussing the day's events, and sometimes just content to sit in silence.

He just wanted to sit under the tree one more time.

Miroku eased himself into the long grass under the tree, still covered in morning dew which soaked through his robes, though he hardly noticed. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against the rough bark of the tree.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around as much," he said out loud. "I didn't really know what to do with myself after you…well, you know. I didn't know what to do without you. You were the only reason I was here. I don't think I ever got the chance to tell you that. I should have told you that. If it wasn't for you, I would have allowed myself to succumb to my curse. But you made me want to live. So you can imagine, I became confused after you were gone."

"Everything that I am today is because of you. You made me want to be a better person. Did you ever notice that, I wonder? Did you notice how hard I tried for you? Maybe I wasn't perfect. But I tried so very hard. I wish I'd gotten the chance to ask you if you'd noticed. I'd like to think you did."

"In the bad times, the person I would always turn to was you. But this time, I cannot. Maybe…"

His voice trailed off as the emotion became too much to bear, and the tears choked his voice. He buried his face in his sleeve as he tried in vain to compose himself.

For a moment, he felt as if an arm placed itself around his shoulders and drew him in. Without thinking, he turned to offer a grateful smile to Sango but when he opened his eyes she wasn't there. Physically, she wasn't there, but he almost felt as if he could sense her presence.

Wiping the remaining tears from his eyes, he gave a little smile. "I know, I know," he said. "I'll keep on living. I promise you that. And I'll come back soon."

He stood up to leave, smoothing out his robes where they had become crumpled in the grass. As he walked away from the tree he turned and whispered over his shoulder: "Thanks, Sango."


	29. Visiting Mushin

_Wow, this took a long time to type. This chapter is pretty long, and doesn't advance the plot too much. But it does have a lot of insight into how I perceive the character of Miroku and what's going on in his head. But, aside from that, it's an odd little chapter!!_

_I got so many nice reviews following my last update, I couldn't rightfully single any of them out as my favourite because so many people said so many NICE things. So thanks! I would probably still write this even if I got no reviews at all, because it's taken over my brain, but the nice reviews give me a lovely warm feeling inside and the incentive to keep posting it on a regular basis! So thanks, everyone!_

_And I know I said at the beginning that I never use Japanese terms when writing in English, so I may appear to be a slight hypocrite in this chapter. Truth be told, I don't know what the English term for a "tanuki" is. I know WHAT one is, but not what they are called in English. I'd look it up, but I'm so lazy. But I'm sure everyone knows what I mean._

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It had been a while since Miroku had felt the wind in his hair, flying through the sky on Kirara's back. And it had been even longer since he'd ridden her alone. It was his usual custom to let Sango do the "driving", while he sat behind her, holding on tight to her waist.

He really used to like the holding on tight part.

Coming upon an expanse of grassy field, he instructed Kirara to fly lower, circling around in an arc until they found an unassuming low building. He sure hoped Mushin was in, or else he'd come all this way for nothing. Of course, what was he thinking? Mushin was always in. He just hoped the old man was awake.

Miroku hopped off Kirara and thanked her for her help. "You can go home now," he told her. "Hachi can bring me back home." Kirara nodded in understanding and leapt up into the sky, sailing off into the distance leaving a trail of flames behind her.

"Hello?" Miroku called as he approached the entrance. "Anyone there?"

"Master Miroku!" answered a familiar voice. His old friend Hachi, the tanuki ran out to greet him. "What brings you back? It's good to see you!"

Miroku knelt down to hug the rotund creature. It must have been an unusual gesture for him to give, for it seemed to surprise Hachi.

"Are you looking after Mushin well, then?" Miroku asked. "I don't suppose he's drunk yet, at this time of the day?" He said these words rather brusquely. He knew the old man was pretty lucky to have lived to this age, given the staggering amount of abuse he subjected his body to. Miroku half feared that one of these days soon he'd be organising Mushin's funeral. And he'd rather that the people he cared about would stop leaving him.

Miroku slipped off his sandals in the doorway before walking inside. It was dark inside, Mushin always liked it dark. Miroku blinked, trying to adjust to the dimmed light. Finally he found his old master, sitting near a very pathetic looking fire. Making tea. Well, that was a change…

"Miroku!" the old man said gruffly. "Finally, you decide to pay me a visit! Been too busy, have you my boy?"

Miroku rolled his eyes, but smiled. He supposed he'd always be "Boy" to Mushin. The man _had_ raised him since he was a child, after all. He wasn't fond of being called "Boy", but he'd tolerate it coming from Mushin.

"I suppose," Mushin continued, giving the tea leaves in the pot a stir. "That you probably just need me to tend to your wind tunnel or something. You never come just to see _me_."

"I haven't had my wind tunnel for five years," Miroku said flatly.

"Oh, right…" Mushin's voice trailed off and they sat in silence for a few moments.

"Er, Mushin?" Miroku said, with a shiver. "It's very cold in here. Do you need me to chop you some firewood so you can build a decent fire?"

"Nonsense, Boy! If you need something to warm you up, this will do!" he exclaimed, pressing a sake cup into Miroku's hands.

"Oh. No, really. I'm not in the mood for-" He stopped and yelped in surprise. Mushin attempted to nudge the cup to Miroku's lips to encourage him to drink. But the old man's large hand was a bit more eager than needed, and he pushed the cup rather roughly into Miroku's teeth, sending the sake dribbling down his chin onto his robes. "Ouch! Okay! Okay!" Miroku protested, wiping his chin dry with the back of his hand. "Just the one, do you hear me?"

After another moment of silence, Miroku spoke up again. "What are you planning to have for dinner?" he asked.

Mushin shrugged. "Suppose I haven't really thought about it yet."

Miroku got to his feet with a sigh. "What have you been doing without me around, I ask you?" He motioned to Hachi to follow him. "Come on. We're going to chop some firewood and gather something to eat." He looked pointedly at Mushin. "As long as I'm around, you're going to live decently and comfortably, do you hear me?"

"Bah! You worry too much, Boy!"

Miroku shook his head and went outside.

"Help me out here, Hachi," he ordered. As the tanuki stacked blocks of wood onto an old stump, Miroku grabbed the axe and swung with all his strength, over and over, until he was bathed in sweat. He broke far more wood than was strictly needed for today, but he wanted to ensure that Mushin was comfortable for the foreseeable future. A man Mushin's age wouldn't have the strength to split this much wood.

"Phew!" Miroku panted, pushing his sleeves up to his shoulders and sitting down on the stump to rest. "I forgot how much hard work that was!" And of course, it still left the manner of gathering food for dinner. He'd allow himself to catch his breath first, that would allow him some time to figure out exactly where he was going to locate some food. As he gasped in lungfuls of the cold air into his overheated body, it burned his throat slightly. Apparently his cough from two days ago hadn't completely left him.

The problem of where to find food was a pressing one. Rummaging around in the nearby forest for berries and mushrooms wasn't his style. Better to stick to what he knew best. There was a farm not far from here who was always generous about donating food to monks. He would pay them a visit and ask them very kindly for some vegetables…if they were in. If they weren't, he would simply assume their generosity and take what he required-as he had often done in the past.

It wasn't stealing, after all. He was simply helping them build good karma by giving food to those who needed it. And it didn't matter that they didn't _know_ he was helping them build their karma. A good monk does not seek recognition for his good deeds.

Well, that was his rationale, anyway.

Resting his staff on his shoulder as he walked, Miroku set off down the path towards the farm with Hachi by his side. His animal companion was oddly silent as they walked. Miroku, fearing a line of questioning about Sango's death, dared not to break the silence although he involuntarily did so every now and then with his cough. Hachi looked up every now and then, and as they walked further, he looked ever more dangerously close to opening his mouth and saying something. So Miroku reckoned it might be better to head him off at the pass and start the conversation before Hachi had a chance to.

"So what have you been up to these days, hmm?" Miroku asked with a happy smile.

Hachi wrung his paws nervously. "Master Miroku…have you been…okay?"

"Eh?" Miroku pretended not to understand. "You mean my cough? It's nothing, really. No need for you to worry about me."

"I think you know that's not what I meant! It's just, you haven't visited us since…you know…and I heard rumours that you were doing quite badly over it…"

"Hachi," Miroku smiled. "Do I look like I'm doing badly?"

Hachi shook his head.

"Well then," Miroku said abruptly, clapping his hands. "Lets worry no more about it, shall we?"

Hachi hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, Master Miroku. Whatever you say!" he said, resolutely. Although in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but feel that Miroku was hiding something. He knew from experience that Miroku was terrible at sharing his more unpleasant feelings. Always trying to protect those around him, he was adept at keeping his pain well hidden. But, Hachi also knew that pressing the matter too much would get him nowhere. Miroku would share if and when he felt ready.

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The trip to the farm yielded good results, not only enough vegetables for the nights dinner but enough for a couple of days' meals, and a generous supply of rice as well. It added up to a pleasant and filling dinner for the three. Mushin grumbled all the while about Miroku's fussing, but felt grateful all the same.

As they sat in the waning sunlight, after finishing their food, Mushin said to Miroku "Do you know, I forgot you were such a good cook."

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Miroku said, secretly revelling in the compliment. He turned his head away to cough, hoping Mushin wouldn't notice. Mushin had only one "cure" for any and all ailments, and Miroku wasn't in the mood for it right now.

Unfortunately Mushin, surprisingly, seemed to have the hearing of a bat.

"Are you sick, Boy?" Mushin demanded.

"Who me? Er, no. I'm just…"

"Humph. I've just the thing for you…"

Miroku groaned inwardly as Mushin reached for his cask of sake.

"Oh, I really don't-" Miroku began, then sighed in defeat as Mushin pushed the cup into his hands. There was really no arguing with the old man once he'd set his mind on offering drinks. He drank the contents of the small cup, but before he had a chance to set it aside Mushin had filled it right back up again for him. When Miroku tried to avoid drinking it by sitting there simply holding the cup, Mushin reached over to nudge it towards his face again. Fearing for the safety of his teeth, Miroku decided it would be safer to quickly drink before Mushin had a chance to reach him. Unfortunately this simply resulted in the cup being refilled.

This was going to be a long evening.

Somewhere around the fifth cup of sake (Miroku had slightly lost count), Mushin began to grumble about Miroku not visiting him as often as he used to. Miroku tried to explain about going to go live in Kagome's time, but Mushin found the concept hard to comprehend.

"And another thing," Mushin demanded. "Why haven't you brought that lovely…what was her name…that wife of yours…"

Standing behind Miroku, Hachi frantically waved his arms at Mushin, trying to signal him to stop. But Mushin was oblivious. Hachi, at a loss for any better solution, did the only thing he could possibly think of to stop Mushin talking before he said something that might be painful for Miroku. He leapt atop Mushin's head, knocking him to the floor. Miroku looked on in astonishment.

Mushin sat up, rubbing the top of his bald head in confusion. "What the…what just happened? Ah! Miroku, my boy! You've come to visit me, have you? Won't you stay and have a drink with me?"

"But…I've already…"

"I won't take no for an answer. Come on now, just the one…"

Apparently Mushin had completely forgotten about the rest of the evening and the other five "just the ones". Miroku sighed in disappointment. This most likely meant that his efforts with the firewood and dinner had been forgotten as well. It was fine, he would have liked a little recognition, but it was fine.

After a few more cups of sake, Miroku began to wilt. He had trouble keeping his eyes open and the room seemed rather like it was swimming around him. In the midst of his dizziness, he suddenly had the feeling that it would be quite prudent to go outside. Immediately. Making the excuse that he needed some fresh air he wandered out to the porch and stood, leaning over the railing-just in case. After a moment, Hachi followed him outside.

"Are you okay, Master Miroku? That was a lot of sake, even for you."

"Ungh. Fine," Miroku muttered, sinking down so that his head rested in his hands. They heard a thud from inside. Hachi poked his head inside the door to check.

"He's passed out, hasn't he?" Miroku said with an angry tone.

Hachi nodded. "But…you know, he was really happy to see you. He's been talking about how much he missed you.

"I know, I know," Miroku muttered. He wasn't angry at Mushin. More…sad. He was hoping that Mushin would spend the evening praising him and the man he had become. He would have liked to hear the words "I'm proud of you, Boy." But, he knew that Mushin was a man of very few words, and did not speak of sentimental things like that.

Miroku stood up straight and walked over to the doorway to retrieve his sandals. "I suppose it's time for me to-" He stumbled in his drunken state. "To go home."

Hachi sighed. "I'll fly you there. I'm not letting you wander around the woods in that state."

"Fine," Miroku said calmly. "Just let me do one thing first. Will you please hold my staff for a moment?"

Hachi held the staff, and averted his eyes as Miroku made an unpleasant face and knelt down behind the bushes.


	30. The Bonds of Friendship

_They really need to get out of the Feudal Era, the story keeps being very sad while they are there! (laugh) Just more character development, so very sorry about that! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far, notably PiscesWater44...your reviews make me feel so happy! Not to make anyone else feel left out mind you...I am truly grateful for all my review!_

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The sight of the squat little Hachi carrying a full grown man on his back took Kagome by surprise. Holding her hand to her mouth to cover a giggle, she asked: "What happened to Miroku?"

"Don't mind him," Hachi said, allowing Miroku to slide to the floor in a most undignified manner. "He just enjoyed himself a bit too much."

Inuyasha snorted. "Isn't that typical?" he snarled. "Once a delinquent monk, always a delinquent monk."

Which was perhaps rather unfair, and had Miroku been conscious enough to defend himself he certainly would have wanted to. Had he been coherent, he would have explained all about the fact that he never actually intended to drink a drop, and only did so to please his former master.

Since he was not, in fact, coherent enough to argue this point Miroku simply crawled towards the futon that had already been laid out for him. Muttering "kill me," in a low voice he slid head first and fully clothed, serpentine-like under the blanket. And there he stayed, with his feet resting on his pillow. Kagome, managing to tear her eyes away from the odd spectacle that was Miroku, turned to Hachi and offered him some of the dinner that she'd made that evening.

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Miroku awoke in the middle of the night, quite confused as to why his head happened to be where his feet ought to have been. He remembered little of the previous day's activities, and knew very little about his current situation except that he needed water. And lots of it.

After some effort he managed to extract himself from what felt like a mountain of blanket, although it left his sleek black hair looking the worse for wear. Smoothing his hair with his hands, for he liked to look his best even if it were pitch dark and he was alone, he stood up to set off in search of a cool drink of fresh water.

He heard a soft, but unusual noise coming from outside the hut. His heart leapt into action, unusual noises usually spelt trouble in this era. But as he listened, he heard that there was something unthreatening about this noise. Something familiar. It was the sound of a woman…crying? And the voice was…

Kagome?

Stumbling his way towards the door (there seemed to be some lingering alcohol in his blood) he squinted in the moonlight, trying to make out where she could be. His eyes finally settled on a shadowy figure sitting under a nearby tree. Not bothering to put his sandals on, he walked outside to her.

"Kagome," he said quietly, sitting down next to her. "Whatever could be the matter?"

"Nothing important," she said, forcing a smile.

"Well, if it's important enough for tears then it's important enough for you to share it with your friend."

Kagome hesitated for a moment, then said. "I'm not pregnant, after all."

"Are you certain? How do you know?"

Kagome quirked an eyebrow. "How do women _usually_ know that they aren't pregnant?"

"Oh! Well, next time perhaps."

"Inuyasha is going to be so disappointed."

"And…are you disappointed?"

Kagome looked at him in astonishment. "What kind of question is that? Of course I am…well, I'm a little relieved too. It's a scary idea, the thought of having a baby. I wasn't really sure if I was ready."

"You are still very young. You're only twenty."

"This, coming from the man who wanted every woman in Feudal Japan to bear his child when he was that age?"

"Ahem!" Miroku said in mock offence. "That was completely different. That was when I needed an heir to carry on the fight against Naraku, in the event that I failed and died. You possibly may have noticed that I haven't been in such a hurry since my curse was lifted."

Kagome had to admit that he had indeed noticed that. "But," she continued. "Inuyasha is the one in a hurry. He has to adapt to having the life span of a mortal. When he was a half demon he could look forward to living for hundreds of years. What is a long lifetime to me, is nothing to him. He has to face his own mortality and he's afraid he doesn't have enough time."

Miroku had never considered Inuyasha's outlook before. While he himself could now look forward to a lifetime many times longer than he had anticipated living, Inuyasha was facing exactly the opposite. Miroku remembered Kagome telling him that men in her time could live to be seventy, eighty, sometimes even a hundred years old. To a man who never thought he would reach the age of twenty-five, this seemed like a veritable bounty of years. Even a hundred years probably seemed like nothing to Inuyasha.

"My dear Kagome," Miroku said, putting a comforting arm around her. "Shortly after Inuyasha became human, he told me something. He told me that he never could have been happy living a long life as a demon, for it would mean outliving you. And he said that he only wanted to live as many years as he could share with you."

"He never told me that!"

"Of course not. And don't tell him that I told you, because he'd kill me. You know how he doesn't like to reveal that side of himself." Miroku laughed slightly at this, and encouraged Kagome with his eyes to do the same. Kagome rewarded him with a smile, and nodded her head.

"You're right," she said gratefully. "Thank you. And…I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"No, you didn't," said Miroku. "I was already awake. I was actually on my way to find a drink of water. My mouth feels like scorched wood."

"Oh dear! And here I am keeping you! Why don't you go back to bed, and I'll bring the water to you."

"Kagome…" Miroku said with a soft smile. "After all the worry you have been through tonight, I can't ask you to worry about me. I shall get my own water. Why don't you go inside where it's warm and enjoy your own bed?"

He stood up and walked off into the darkness. Kagome watched his figure leave until his shadow was indistinguishable from any of the other shadows. She had known him for so long, and even now that sort of behaviour from him surprised her.

They had all grown to know him as the cheerful, often cheeky, man. The man who never quite seemed to know where the boundary of social propriety was, and often crossed that line quite on purpose. The man who appeared to be pure frivolity: flirting with women when more seriousness was called for, always looking for a profit. And those qualities of his were so very much on the surface, that even Kagome who had known him for so long often forgot to look past them.

But every once in a while he would do something to remind them. Behind the frivolity was a man of steadfast resolve, a man who would set his mind to something and then complete it. A man who cared more for those around him than he even cared for himself. Someone who would protect those he loved, even if it meant sacrifice for himself. A friend as caring and loyal as anyone could ever ask for.

Kagome smiled to herself. That whole adventure, fighting Naraku and everything that came along with it, it had been hard and terrifying at times. Still, she wouldn't have changed it for anything. The friends she had met along the way, and Inuyasha of course, meant more to her than anything that had come before or since.

Still, it had not been easy. They had all suffered during that time. Miroku had suffered more than the rest of them. She hoped that, living in her time, he would finally find the happiness and stability that had thus far eluded him.


	31. Leaving Memories in the Past

_Sorry it has taken me so long to get this up. And this next chapter is so SHORT!__Hopefully Life will allow me a moment or two to get the next one typed up quicker. Anyhow..._

_To TheMysteriousAuthoress: THANK YOU! It's a delicate matter, introducing a new character-_especially_ if they are paired up with an existing character...so "non-sue" was one of the greatest compliments EVER! _

_To PiscesWater44: Wah! You write the nicest reviews ever, seriously. I love ya!_

_To: WineIXI: No, I don't think you're an ass! But you might want to skip this chapter and wait for the next one. She comes back in the next one! _

_And to SangoMirokuRule (Great name! They do rule, don't they!) This fast enough for you? Ha, ha, ha!_

_And the other reviewers, though I may not name you by name I really love all my reviews-good, bad or indifferent!_

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When Miroku finally managed to get to sleep, it was not a pleasant nor uninterrupted sleep. The recurring nightmare from his past had decided to haunt him relentlessly once again.

_Miroku knelt on the floor, gazing at his baby daughter in his left arm. Such a thick head of black hair, he knew she would grow up to be a beauty like her mother. He smiled warmly as the baby looked up at him and laughed._

_"Father?" came a small voice. "Don't you want to play with me?"_

_Miroku turned his loving gaze to his son. "I just need to get your sister to sleep. It won't be long."_

_"But father, I want to play with you now," the boy said insistently and tugged on Miroku's right hand._

_"No!" Miroku scolded. "Be careful-"_

_The boys small hand closed around the beads encircling Miroku's wrist. When Miroku shouted, the startled boy lost his balance and fell backwards, unravelling the beads as he fell. Miroku grabbed for his wrist, dropping the baby to the hard floor in the process. He desperately tried to close his wind tunnel, but it was too late._

_"Father…" the boy pleaded as he was sucked into oblivion._

_"No!" Miroku gasped as he knelt on the floor in the spot where the boy had just stood but a moment ago. _

_"You killed the baby," came a voice behind him. He turned around to see Sango, in full battle gear, cradling the body of the dead infant. "You killed my son. You killed them both"_

_"It was an accident," he pleaded with tears in his eyes. Sango drew her sword and fixed him with a pained stare._

_"No, Sango, please spare me. It was an accident!" _

_"Oh, it's not for you. This blade is for me!" she screamed, standing poised with the tip of the blade touching her belly. "You killed us all," her voice rang out as her figure grew into a large looming shadow above him. The shadow-Sango plunged the blade into itself as Miroku looked on helplessly._

He woke up with a gasp, sitting bolt upright in his bed gasping for breath. Although…he kept his eyes closed. He couldn't quite bring himself to open them.

He felt a pair of arms embrace his shoulders, just as Sango had done all those times before. And he felt the gentle reassuring caress of her thumbs on the palm of his right hand, reminding him that the Wind Tunnel was gone and those nightmares would never come to pass. Smiling, he leaned into the embrace, expecting to find himself pressed against Sango's strong yet feminine shoulders.

Only…she wasn't there. Of course she wasn't there. Clearly, he was still half asleep and that had just been part of the dream. He looked down next to him. Shippo lie awkwardly, having been thrown by the force of Miroku jolting upright as he awoke, yet snoring happily and clearly oblivious to what had just happened. Miroku laughed quietly. That Shippo could sleep through anything. Miroku corrected Shippo's sleeping position, and lay back down himself, drawing the blankets up over his shoulder again.

He would have liked to enjoy the rest of his time in the Feudal Era. He probably would have, if that dream didn't come back every night. And every night, the same thing happened-he felt Sango's arms and forgot, just for a moment, that she was gone. A week of _that_ will frazzle anyone's nerves, and by the end of the week, Miroku's composure was wearing thin.

However, on the final day, all of those feelings vanished. His heart pounded with excitement as they packed up their things and headed for the well. Try as he might, he couldn't keep the huge grin from his face.

"Why are you so happy to be leaving me?" Shippo pouted, from his perch on Miroku's shoulder.

"I'm not happy to be leaving you. I'm looking forward to being home, but of course I will miss you. "However," he added with a smile. "The sooner I go back, the sooner I can begin shopping for more presents to bring back the next time I visit."

"I wish I could come and live with you guys in Kagome's time. It's just not fair."

"We wish so, too," chimed in Kagome. "But with that tail of yours, you wouldn't blend in very well."

"One day I'm going to be so good at transforming, that I can hide my tail. And then I'm going to come live with you!"

Kagome smiled indulgently and patted the fox-child on his head. Miroku, growing ever more impatient, nearly broke his dignified composure as he hopped from foot to foot almost in the manner of a small child wishing to go into a sweetshop.

He didn't hate the Feudal Era. Nor did he prefer living in Kagome's time. Truth be told his own time was simpler, while Kagome's time gave him headaches with all it's complexity. And it wasn't either, that he wanted to rush away from the ever present memories of Sango, even the memories that felt tangible enough to hold.

He wanted to get home to Sachiko. For, strangely enough, the constant reminders of Sango made any guilt he had felt over his new relationship slowly dissipate. He wasn't sure why that should be. He just somehow carried an overwhelming sense of comfort away with him as he disappeared into the well and left the familiar air of the Feudal Era behind once again.

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I promise the next one is far longer. And it has Sachiko in it, and they go to the zoo. Miroku's never seen a zoo, so it could get interesting...


	32. The Zoo Part 1

_Finally an update? Sorry for the huge amounts of time between updates, but rest assured I'm still working on this. I was hoping to have this scene fit all into one chapter so I can get to the really important bits such as discovering the truth about Sachiko's connection to Sango but I had to cut this scene in half here as it took up four whole pages in Word...and I didn't want it to be too long lest my readers' eyes fall out from exhaustion!_

_I got some REALLY nice reviews since my last update, I would thank everyone personally as is my usual custom but I don't want to leave anyone out by accident. But I really appreciate the kind words and I hope you continue to enjoy my offering!_

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"I'll meet you at the coffee shop."

That was the plan, the agreement that Miroku and Sachiko had made. Miroku questioned the logic of this as he waited impatiently outside. Perhaps they should have met somewhere closer, perhaps they should have agreed to meet at an earlier time. Of course it didn't help that in his eagerness, he'd gotten here twenty minutes early and the time seemed to take an eternity to pass.

She stood out from the crowd. Of course, in his humble opinion, she would stand out anywhere, but the vibrant red overcoat she wore certainly helped set her apart. Her face brightened as she saw him.

"Miroku!" she called out, breaking into a run and throwing her arms around him. He was no longer startled by such blatant displays of affection, he was getting used to the unusual behaviours of the females of this time-and _her _behaviour in general which even by modern standards was forward.

He had assumed that the first thing he would say to her after not seeing her for an entire week would have been "I missed you". What he ended up saying was "You look different".

"Oh this," she said, patting her hair which was tied up in a ponytail high on her head, echoing Sango's style when she was slaying demons-just shorter. "I thought it was time for a change. Do you like it?" Miroku only nodded.

"Anyhow," Sachiko said with a little bounce. "I bet you've already guessed where we're going." Miroku had to admit that in all honesty, he hadn't a clue. Sachiko grabbed his hand and led him down the sidewalk, talking as they walked.

"It was really hard to pick somewhere different," she mused. "But I wanted us to do something fun, you know, an actual activity. So I thought the zoo would be perfect. I hope you don't mind!"

Miroku couldn't exactly object. He didn't quite know what a zoo was or what one was likely to do there.

"Is it far from here?" he said, looking around him for clues as to what was in store.

"It's about half an hour by train," she said. "Luckily there's a train station nearby."

"We're not going to take a car?"

Sachiko laughed. "I don't have a car, silly. Do you know how expensive it is to drive around Tokyo. I suppose living with Kagome has gotten you spoiled, with all the money she makes. But when you're with me, you'll just have to make do with the train, I'm afraid!"

Miroku wasn't too disappointed. How could he be, not knowing what a train even was?

He soon found out, however. And he learned an important lesson, the train on Saturday morning could be more than a little crowded. He found himself wedged between Sachiko and a wall, his face flushed from a combination of the stuffy heat inside the train and the fact that Sachiko's thigh insisted on rubbing against his own.

"It's so warm in here," Sachiko complained. "I'm completely dressed for being outdoors." She made a futile attempt to fan herself with her hand.

"Why don't you take off your coat?" Miroku suggested.

"Nah. I don't want to carry it."

"I'll hold it for you," he offered.

"Okay then," said Sachiko, not even hesitating for a moment as she slipped her arms out of her heavy overcoat. She'd already deposited it into his waiting arms before she added "As long as you don't mind."

He didn't answer right away. Sachiko repeated herself: "As long as you don't mind, I said."

Miroku mumbled something incoherent. He was distracted by what seemed to be a vision from the past. Sachiko had chosen an interesting outfit to say the least, though unknowingly. Head to toe black: figure-flattering tight black trousers and a form hugging black turtleneck. Of course the finishing touch was the red scarf tied around her waist with the long ends dangling carelessly. She had chosen the outfit for a reason…she'd noticed his gaze often wandered towards certain areas of her body and she wanted to make sure she showed them off to good effect, to ensure his attention.

She had absolutely no notion of it's resemblance to Sango's slayers uniform, minus the pink armour. When she saw Miroku's dumbstruck reaction, she assumed the outfit had accomplished it's intended purpose and drawn his eyes to some of her more attractive assets.

"Enjoying the view?" she smirked.

"What? I, er…uh…hnngh…" he stammered.

"Okay, then," Sachiko laughed, seemingly more amused than annoyed at his habit of staring and certainly amused at his startled reaction to her noticing.

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As they stepped off the train, Miroku thrust the coat towards Sachiko.

"You must want this back now, right?" he said in a voice that Sachiko swore she could detect a hint of nervousness in. She fought back a smile, mistaking his demeanour for shyness. She hung playfully from his arm, ignoring the fact that it earned them some amused or quizzical glances from passers by.

But even as they approached the entrance to the zoo, he made no effort to discourage her.

"So this is it?" he queried. "So what do people do here again?"

"You're weird. Anyway, what do you want to look at first? I like to look at the big cats, myself."

Miroku shrugged, not entirely sure how to answer that question. "Big cats sounds good to me."

As they walked further into the zoo, Miroku scanned his surroundings for clues as to what this place was for, exactly. But the only think he could see was paths, lined with neatly-cut grass and the occasional tree. And walking up and down these paths were scores of people, many of whom were carrying some sort of box-shaped object. Some people hung these objects from their neck. And every now and then one of them would hold the object to their face for a moment, and then lower it again.

The closest he could tell, this place had something to do with those objects. They clearly had some significance, and held some sort of mysterious power too. Whenever a person stopped walking and held that box in front of their face, all the other people around them would suddenly avoid walking near them. And pointing the box directly at people seemed to cause them to stop and smile. Very odd behaviour indeed.

Or perhaps this place had something to do with food. There were quite a few foodsellers around, filling the air with those appetising aromas. Miroku hoped they were here to eat some of that food. He'd skipped breakfast and the smell in the air made him hungry.

"Oh!" Sachiko exclaimed. "The primate enclosure is just over there. We should head that way, save us from having to walk this way again."

"Mmm," Miroku said, since many parts of that sentence did not make sense to him. The air, though turning to Spring, was still chilly and he noticed Sachiko thrust her hands into her coat pockets to keep them warm. Turning his eyes upward and looking nonchalantly heavenward, he slowly edged his arm over until it rested lightly around her back while still keeping his gaze fixed on the distance. It gave him the appearance of being unaware of the actions of his arm, which was a defence he was very likely to take should she decide to take offence.

But she didn't. Despite having the face of the late demon-slayer, she certainly didn't seem to share any of her fiery temper. Sachiko responsively leaned in towards his arm with an appreciative murmur. It had taken him a long time to get Sango to respond that way. He could still remember the first time she did…

_"What on earth are you doing, Sango?" Miroku said with a low chuckle as he approached the figure knelt in the grass._

_"Ssh! Move very slowly!"_

_"What is it?" he asked with a slight tone of alarm. "Are you stalking demons?"_

_"No…look. The butterfly landed on my finger."_

_Miroku moved in for a closer look at the white gossamer-winged creature perched on Sango's delicate outstretched index finger. Unfortunately, his movements were slightly less silent and graceful than necessary and his approach caused the insect to flit off into the summer sun._

_"Ohhhh," Sango groaned. "Look what you've done."_

_Miroku stretched his arms above his head with a satisfied yawn and plunked himself down on the ground next to Sango. She'd been out here for hours, and it worried him when she left to be on her own for long periods of time. It often meant she was thinking about Kohaku. Many a time, usually at night, she disappeared for hours just to go sit by herself and mourn her late brother. She tried to do this when he was asleep, usually. It bothered him to see her suffer alone and would come in pursuit of her if he noticed she was gone for any length of time. It didn't bother her that he came after her. It was more that she felt guilty for burdening him. This was meant to be a happy time in his life, his curse was gone and the only worry he should have had was how to fill the many days he now had left in his life. _

_This time was not one of those unhappy moments, however. Miroku realised this when he saw what was in Sango's hands._

_"What are you doing with all those flowers?" he asked in bemusement._

_Sango held up the handful of fine white flowers she had been gathering from the field which was exploding with the blossoms. "This? I thought the house could do with some brightening up. It was going to be a surprise for you, but you've spoiled it."_

_Miroku frowned in mock hurt. "Then you're not happy to see me?" Tentatively he reached his arm out. He turned his eyes upward with an expression of innocence, giving him the appearance that he was unaware of the actions of his arm. And, like he had done so many times before with disastrous results, draped his arm around her back._

_He gritted his teeth, expecting the usual temperamental response. But it never came. Instead she leaned into his embrace. _

_It was the first time she'd ever done that. In all the time that had passed between the defeat of Naraku, it was the first time she completely relaxed in his presence. The imagery of the butterfly was not lost on Miroku either…sometimes he felt Sango was just like a butterfly: beautiful to look at, impossible to hold._

"Hey there, Miroku," Sachiko prodded, tugging at his arm. "Are you paying attention? I asked you if you wanted to stop and look at the primates. Why are you staring off to space like that, anyway?"

"Hmm?" said Miroku absent-mindedly. He turned his eyes to where Sachiko was pointing until he saw a family of baboons frolicking in an enclosure.

"Awww, look," Sachiko exclaimed. "There's baby ones!"

Miroku shuddered. "I don't want to look at those!" he snapped and abruptly turned away. Sachiko looked at him quizzically, utterly baffled as to why he wore an expression somewhere between contempt and anger.

"Er…" she ventured. "Not a monkey fan, then?"


	33. The Zoo Part 2

_Remember WAY at the beginning of the story when I said I won't be using any Japanese honorifics or terminology in this fic? I lied. There's going to be a phrase that's going to start popping up and it HAD to be done in order to illustrate a very important point. I won't say anymore lest it spoil the story, you will notice it when you see it and it's reason will fast become apparent._

_Thanks to **everyone** who reviewed my last chapter...especially TheMysteriousAuthoress' wonderful compliment of "non-Sue", and PiscesWater44 who always puts such thought and originality into her reviews, that it makes me smile to read them. One of these days I shall manage to hit that "reply" button and thank people personally. When I can manage to be not-lazy!_

_I can't believe it. Over thirty chapters and I'm only FINALLY getting to the actual point of this fic. Blame the muses that took over and forced me to write it this way. Enjoy the mushy bits and plot-development moments!_

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When Miroku didn't answer, Sachiko shrugged. "Okay," she said, perplexed. "We don't have to look at the baboons if you don't want to." She hesitantly resumed her position by his side, more subdued and quiet this time.

As they walked away from the enclosure, Miroku turned around and looked over his shoulder at the playful animals. His shoulders tensed and a shudder ran up his spine. Of course he knew he was being unfair to the innocent creatures but the sight of them only reminded him of one thing...Naraku. Sachiko startled him out of his reverie by asking "You don't have anything against rhinos, do you?"

"Mmm?" said Miroku, raising his head.

Then suddenly he let out a startled yell.

"What manner of frightful demon is this?" he cried in a voice that caused Sachiko to flinch from embarrassment, fixing his violet eyes at the strange large horned creature before him. He was so fixated on preparing for battle that he failed to notice that no one else seemed to be as concerned with the sight of this beast as he was, although they were now quite intrigued by the strange, shouting ponytailed man. And he had forgotten for a moment that Kagome had said demons didn't exist in her time. Assuming a protective stance in front of Sachiko, he barked: "Stand back! I'll make sure this demon doesn't get you!"

Sachiko stood speechless for a moment, her mouth agape, her confused eyes wide. Then, she began to giggle-nervously at first, then it developed into full-volume laughter. If the surrounding crowds weren't staring at Miroku's odd display of misplaced heroics, they were certainly staring now.

"I suppose it will take me a while to get used to your sense of humour," she sighed, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "You're so _weird_!"

"Ah..." Miroku murmured, quite red in the face. "Humour...of course..."

He fixed his attention to the explanatory sign in front of the rhinoceros enclosure which, in retrospect, he should have probably read first to spare embarrassment. However, the sign provided little useful information. Despite the fact that, as a monk, he was more educated and literate than the common man from his time, the word "rhinoceros" meant nothing to him, and the fact that it came from "Africa" made no sense either.

And Kagome had warned him that he was never to ask for clarification lest he give himself away. Miroku sighed with helpless frustration at being so lost in this time. Sachiko, hearing the obvious frustration in his sigh but not knowing the cause, assumed he was becoming impatient. Worried that the special date she had planned was failing spectacularly, she put her hand softly and soothingly on his arm.

"Lets move on to the lions," she suggested.

Lions. Miroku assumed that referred to the odd, dusty coloured beasts they found themselves looking at next-animals that reminded him slightly of Kirara. But perhaps they couldn't fly like Kirara, or else he reckoned they would have flown off long ago rather than lying sleepily on the ground.

The thought made him wonder about Kirara. What had become of her in the intervening 500 years? Perhaps she had disguised herself as a form these modern people would find non-threatening? How would she cope without being able to fly wherever she wished? And Shippo, what had become of him? As a demon, he could have easily lived this many years…but there was no place in _this_ world for demons, not even ones like Shippo.

"Yoo-hoo," sang Sachiko. "Penny for your thoughts, Miroku?" She put a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay today? You don't seem to be having a good time at all."

Miroku felt a pang of guilt for failing to show adequate appreciation for the day out that Sachiko had planned, and decided to remedy that immediately. He flashed her a broad grin. "I'm just hungry, is all. I haven't eaten all day. Perhaps we could get a snack or something."

Sachiko brightened considerably. "Oh, lets get ice cream. I just love eating ice cream on a day out."

Miroku didn't have the heart to tell her that he was more in the mood for something more cooked and substantial. Gallantly (in his mind, anyway) paying for the frozen treats, he ate his strawberry flavoured ice cream slowly and thoughtfully, trying to work out if he enjoyed it or not while wishing there were someplace more comfortable to sit than the brick wall they were perched on. He noticed Sachiko looking at him with a playful glint in her eyes and he paused with the plastic spoon still between his lips, to return her gaze with a bemused expression of his own.

"Whatever are you staring at?" he said with a low chuckle.

"I'll let you try mine if you let me try yours," she purred with a sly grin.

"Er, okay then," Miroku said.

Slowly and deliberately, Sachiko scooped a small amount of her chocolate ice cream and held the spoon teasingly in front of his face.

"Say 'ahh'," she prompted. Obediently, Miroku opened his mouth in anticipation. Then suddenly, with a giggle, Sachiko instead dabbed the ice cream onto the end of his angular nose.

"Hey!" Miroku exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh, sorry," Sachiko said, not sounding as if she were sorry at all. "Let me get that."

Miroku's pulse quickened as Sachiko leant in with her eyes closed. He anticipated that she was aiming for the drop of ice cream on his nose, so his eyes widened in shock when her lips instead softly made contact with his own lips. His expression gradually softened as he leant in closer to meet her, and his eyes gradually closed as he reached aside to set his ice cream down on the wall and his hands, now free, reached over to pull Sachiko closer to him. They remained in the clinch, each unwilling to let go, and oblivious to the shocked stares from passers-by.

It was Sachiko that finally pulled back. She smiled languidly at him, gazing into his sparkling violet eyes and murmured "You taste of strawberry".

Miroku couldn't catch his breath enough to form a coherent response, and his heart was pounding so forcefully he half expected the sound of it's beat would drown out his words anyway. His cheeks flushed a bright red as he simply sat in wide eyed astonishment. Sachiko, smiling coyly, simply took a napkin to his face to wipe away the ice cream that had started the whole business.

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"Thank goodness there's a place to sit this time," Sachiko sighed as they boarded the train for the journey home. Miroku had to agree, though he certainly had the stamina and plenty of experience in walking for long periods of time, he did prefer his comfort whenever possible.. Miroku took a window seat close to the doors, and Sachiko sat down close next to him-so close that they pressed shoulders.

"I'm glad I have my coat now," she murmured, snuggling into his arm and resting her head on his shoulder with a satisfied sleepiness. As Miroku watched her eyes slowly close, he felt his own weary eyelids growing ever heavier. He rested his head on the window and shut his eyes. The jerking and bouncing of the train would have disrupted an ordinary man's sleep, but Miroku had trained himself to sleep just about anywhere. Before long, the two had drifted off into a quiet, light slumber.

Miroku awoke with a gasp. He had settled into a deep enough sleep to dream, and as luck would have it, the dream was the now-familiar recurring nightmare. Fortunately, he managed to wake himself before he got to the really upsetting parts. For which he was eternally grateful-it just wouldn't do to shout out in front of all these people.

He reflected on the dream with some irritation. It wasn't just annoyance over the fact that this nightmare chose to repeat itself over and over. It was the fact that he _allowed _it to upset him, when clearly the events that happened in it were never going to happen. His wind tunnel was long gone. As was Sango and the prospect of them ever having children together. So why should he care about such a silly little dream? Why should he fear it so?

He sighed in irritation with himself. He had to admit, the fear he had felt when he was cursed with his wind tunnel would probably haunt him the rest of his life. Even if he lived to be a hundred years old. It was a fear that only a man who had looked that closely at death, yet lived to tell the tale, could understand. He held his right hand out in front of himself and stared at his smooth, flawless palm as if to remind himself that he didn't have to live with fear anymore.

Sachiko, who had been resting on his arm all this time, began to stir. Miroku looked at her with gentle warmth. Apparently, she was having a dream of her own. His smile turned to concern when she whimpered and furrowed her eyebrows and he toyed with the idea of waking her up. Suddenly, her eyelids fluttered in her sleep and she let out a little gasp. "No.." she murmured almost inaudibly. "No! Help me…help me, Houshi-sama."

Miroku pulled back, startled. Did she just say...but no, that was impossible. The only one who used to call him that was-

_Impossible_. He must have heard wrong. She was mumbling, after all.

He didn't have any more time to wonder, however, because just then Sachiko awoke with a start. And as soon as she awoke she looked out the window.

"Ah!" she cried. "Good thing I woke up or we would have missed our stop! Why did you let me sleep, silly?"

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"Do you want me to walk you home?" Miroku asked as they left the train station. "It is getting quite dark."

"No," Sachiko said. "It's late and I know how tired you are. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

And she left. Miroku watched her as she walked off into the distance and he didn't start his journey home until she had become just a faint shadow in the distance.


	34. Memories

_EEEK! I typed this out nearly a month ago and I'm only now just getting around to posting it. Don't you just hate it when Life gets in the way of posting fanfiction consistently. I promise my next update will be faster! _

Having changed from the uncomfortable costume of Kagome's era into his familiar black and purple robes, Miroku knelt on the floor of his bedroom, grateful for a quiet moment in order to finally get a task done he'd been wanting to do since they returned from their trip to the feudal era. On the floor before him he spread out the bundle of Sango's personal effects that he had brought with him, and thoughtfully and carefully began to sort them. The smaller items, and the ones with more personal significance were put aside to be placed on the altar dedicated to her. Larger items like her clothes he would store carefully in order to avoid damage.

It seemed to be a more involved process than he had anticipated. Every object brought back memories, and he relished turning every small item-as insignificant looking as it might be-over and over in his fingers, smiling as he relived happier days.

He picked up her white hair ribbon, the very one that had kept her hair tied back in that carelessly tidy ponytail. This particular ribbon had a particular significance as he'd bought it for her...

_"I still think you look beautiful like that," Miroku insisted, as Sango stood with her loose black locks whipped about by the playful evening breeze, the fiery evening sky providing a dramatic backdrop and illuminating the edges of her hair, making her look like a fiery angel._

_Sango let out a groan of annoyance. "My hair is getting in my way," she complained. "It keeps blowing in my face and…argh!" She cut off the last sentence with an exclamation of dismay as she tried in vain to keep her hair tamed against the wind. "How could I have been so stupid as to lose my only ribbon like that?"_

_Miroku chuckled. "Not stupid. Very determined to climb that tree to get the very best fruit for us to eat, though. And when you climb trees, you have to expect to get things caught on branches. It was just bad luck that monkey came along and stole your ribbon right after it came loose from your hair though."_

_"I'm glad someone finds it funny," she pouted. "Anyway, what are you still doing here? Isn't tonight your night to go out and relax?"_

_Since they got married, money wasn't entirely plentiful. Miroku made what he could by telling fortunes and performing "exorcisms" in various villages. And occasionally Sango supplemented their income by hiring her services as a demon slayer, despite Miroku's protests that neither of them should have anything to do with demons any more. While most of the money that they made went towards food and household neccessaries, they had agreed that each of them would take a small amount for their own enjoyment. Sango usually spent hers on her trademark pink eyeshadow. Miroku used his to go out for a few cups of sake one night a week. Tonight usually was that night._

_"Ahh," Miroku said, averting his gaze. "I won't be drinking tonight. I've...already spent the money you see..."_

_Sango groaned, Miroku's shifty look meant that good news probably wouldn't follow. "Oh, Miroku!" she admonished. "What did you do?"_

_He thrust out his hand, looking at his feet as he did so. Sango smiled as she saw what was in his hand-a brand new white hair ribbon._

_"I...bought you a new one," Miroku said, with an endearing uncertainty sparkling in his eyes. "I hope it's the right kind."_

_"You...you never stop amazing me, you know that?" Sango gasped with glee. "I can't believe you gave up your drinking money to buy me this. I'll never lose this one, I promise!" she vowed as she tied the ribbon into her hair, before embracing Miroku in a strong grip that only the battle-honed arms of a demon slayer could possibly manage._

And she never did lose it, Miroku recalled with a smile as he put the ribbon aside. That one was certainly going onto the altar.

His job done at last, he stood up. The pile of Sango's neatly folded clothes he put on the bottom shelf of a half-full bookcase until he could figure out a better place to store them. The pile of items destined for the altar he put on top of the bedside table. Tomorrow would be a good time to arrange them, it was getting late and he was getting too sleepy to think about doing any more tonight.

As he went about his business, he heard the chime of the doorbell. Since it was followed almost immediately by Kagome's voice trilling "I'll get it," he ignored the interruption, stretching lazily and beginning his bedtime preparations. This moment was short lived, however. A short rap on his bedroom door was followed by Kagome's head poking in. She looked concerned.

"Miroku," she said quietly. "I think you'd better come downstairs. Sachiko's here."

"Really?" said Miroku, confused. "Why on earth would she come here so late?"

"I think you'd just better come downstairs."

Smoothing out his robes and ensuring he looked at least remotely presentable, he obediantly made his way downstairs, wondering all the while what could possibly be going on. He walked into the sitting room, where Kagome had instructed him Sachiko was waiting. He saw her, sitting on the sofa-an oddly hunched over figure. As soon as he came in the room, she looked up and he could see that she was crying and clearly had been for quite some time. He didn't even have time to ask her what was wrong, for she immediately jumped up and flew to him.

Sachiko grasped him tightly with clenched fists and buried her face into his robes, sobbing. Miroku stroked her hair with his left hand.

"Hey there," he said in a soothing, low tone. "Whatever is the problem?"

She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "My apartment was broken into while we were out...the window's been smashed and I'm too scared to stay there. I was hoping, perhaps, you might let me stay here?"

"I don't know, I'll have to ask Kagome since it's her house..."

"Of course she can!" exclaimed Kagome, who had obviously been paying attention. She never could resist spying on interesting situations.

"And, I hate to ask this but..." Sachiko said hesitantly. "I have my cat too." She motioned to a plastic crate sitting by her feet.

"Of course the cat can stay too," Kagome reassured her. "Just keep her away from Inuyasha, he seems to enjoy annoying cats whenever he can."

"There now," Miroku said with a friendly smile, stroking Sachiko who still had her fingers wound tightly around handfuls of his loose robes. "Everything is okay now, see? Did they take anything of value?"

"My laptop," Sachiko sighed. "It had all of the articles I was working on on it too...and who knows when I'll be able to afford a new one."

"Perhaps we can go shopping tomorrow and get you a new one then. I wouldn't want you to go without anything that you require."

Sachiko looked at him in disbelief. "You're kidding right? You'd just go out and spend that much money just like that?"

Miroku shrugged. "Do they cost a large amount of money?" he said thoughtfully. He had no idea what a laptop was or how much one was likely to cost. "No matter," he added with a resolute smile. "I have been looking for a way to spend some of the money I have been accumulating since I opened the matchmaking agency. The trouble is there just isn't much that I need or want for myself. But if I can use the money to get you something _you_ need, so much the better."

This seemed to bring a smile of amusement to Sachiko's face. "Let me get this straight. You have so much money you don't know what to do with it, so I'd be doing you a favour by letting you buy me a new laptop?" She shook her head. "Miroku, you are by far one of the strangest men I have ever met."

He stroked Sachiko's hair indulgently. "After all this excitement, what you need is to relax and get some sleep. You can sleep in my bed tonight-it's very comfortable-and I shall move myself to the sitting room for your convenience. Come this way, I'll show you where everything is."

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When Miroku re-appeared downstairs carrying a pillow and blanket, he happened to pass by Kagome who sat enjoying her nightly cup of tea.

"You're not even going to _try_ to convince her to let you sleep in the same bed?" Kagome asked with a sly grin.

"Humph," Miroku replied. "Would _I _do such a thing?"

Kagome laughed. "You know, you really have matured in the last five years!"

"What a ridiculous statement. I've _always _been mature!"

Miroku thought for a moment, then decided that questions that were rattling around in his mind were far more important than his wounded pride, so he sat down next to Kagome and leaned into her with a serious expression on his face.

"Kagome?" he began hesitantly. "You know how you were reincarnated from Kikyo..."

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Yes, I think I recall something to that effect," she said, with a mix of amusement and sarcasm. "Why?"

"Did you ever dream her memories? I mean, before you knew who she was did you already know who she was?" Seeing the confused look on Kagome's face, Miroku could tell she wasn't quite following him, so he tried a different approach. "Did you ever dream of Inuyasha before you met him because of Kikyo's memories?"

Kagome shook her head slowly. "No..." she said, then followed it up with the obvious question. "_Why_?"

"Ah!" said Miroku, suddenly brightening and standing up abruptly. "No reason! I'm just going to get ready to sleep...quite innocently on the sofa, thank you very much."

Shortly after Miroku had made himself comfortable on the sofa with a book to read under the dim light of the lamp, he lazily observed Inuyasha casually make his way into the kitchen where Kagome sat...


	35. The Revelation

_Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback and true to my promise I'm not going to make you all wait so long for my future updates. Ashestoashes, THANK YOU for your comment that it would make a good sequel as that is exactly what I was striving for! It's awfully hard to take existing characters, make them older and wiser while still having them be the same characters, stick them in a new situation and have it still seem like it still belongs with the original story. So I am so happy!_

_I am taking a huge gamble in this chapter. I started this story to play with the idea of reincarnation, but it's about to be dealt with in a different way than the Kagome/Kikyo was in the original Inuyasha story. I'm hoping my readers will forgive me for not being true to the original concept of reincarnation in Inuyasha but...to me the point of fanfic is to introduce something new into the story that isn't in the original story. So I'm going to hope that my gamble pays off._

_And to spare the shock of anyone who gets to the end of the chapter and wonders if I'm going to go THERE with that scene, I will tell you now...no, that's not where it's going. It shall be perfectly innocent. (That'll make more sense once you get down to the end...)_

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Shortly after Inuyasha disappeared into the kitchen, Miroku sneezed suddenly.

His first thought was that Inuyasha and Kagome must be gossiping about him. Then he corrected himself-they wouldn't be doing that. Then he corrected himself again-this was Kagome after all, her favourite pasttime was talking about people!

His curiosity thus piqued, he put his book down and stealthily tiptoed with cat-like grace over to the kitchen door and hid there in the darkness to find out what he could hear. The first sentence he heard confirmed his suspicions.

"Don't you think he'll just end up hurt if he's just looking for another Sango?" That of course was Kagome's voice.

"I'm telling you, leave him alone," answered Inuyasha's voice. "Let him do what feels right to him."

_Thank you Inuyasha_, Miroku thought to himself.

"Well, if he doesn't get hurt, Sachiko certainly will," Kagome said. "If you ask me, it's unfair and selfish on his part to expect that girl to live up to Sango's legacy."

Miroku's face darkened in anger. He couldn't believe that they hadn't even bothered to ask _him _about his intentions and feelings before coming to such a conclusion. Suddenly he didn't want to hear any more of that conversation. He skulked back to his sleeping place and sat there, turning the words over and over again in his mind.

A few hours later, at 2 am, he was still bothered by those words. He lay on his back in the darkness, glaring up at the ceiling. Selfish, indeed! Not since his younger days of being frequently called a "pervert" had a word annoyed him quite so much.

He kicked his blanket off and sat up. His mind was thinking too much to be able to sleep. Perhaps a glass of water would help. He unhurriedly made his way into the kitchen and stood in the darkness, looking thoughtfully out the window at the starless sky as he sipped from a refreshingly cool glass of water. No matter how many times he saw it, he found the night sky in this era to look so strange...so empty. It made him feel vaguely lonely. He entertained the notion of seeing if Sachiko was awake, or perhaps if she felt lonely or uncomfortable sleeping in a strange place-in which case she may want him to keep her company in her room.

Slow footsteps startled him out of his reverie. Even though he knew that he was safe here, out of habit his muscles tensed, preparing to defend himself if a threat should present itself. A shadow approached the doorway. He squinted in the darkness, as the figure came into the kitchen. It was a female shape, that much he could tell...as it came closer, he could see that the hair was too short to be Kagome.

It must be Sachiko. But...

As shiver ran up his spine as his brain processed what he was seeing. There she stood, clad in a far too familiar pink and white kimono and green skirt. Evidently she had found the clothes of Sango's that he'd brought back from his own time and decided to try them on.

"Hey," Miroku barked. "You shouldn't be wearing those!" he knew he probably shouldn't sound so gruff, since she didn't know what she was doing, but the shock of it overrode his sensibilities.

Sachiko lifted her head slowly and uncertainly as if she were a marionette being controlled by an inexperienced puppetmaster. She appeared to be trying to fix her half closed, vacant eyes on Miroku but was obviously having trouble focusing. Miroku looked at her in confusion. Was she...sleepwalking? He waved his hand in front of her eyes.

"Sachiko? Are you awake?"

Her mouth slowly spread into a placid smile and she hung there eerily for what seemed like an eternity before she finally spoke.

"Sachiko's not awake. But _I_ am."

"Er...what?" was the only reply that Miroku could muster.

"What's the matter, houshi-sama? Don't you recognise me?"

Miroku felt as if he'd been simultaneously punched in the stomach and kicked in the back.

"Look," he said. "I don't know where you got the idea to do this, but please stop it. It's not funny."

She lurched forward with her awkward puppet-like steps and tried to embrace him. He stepped backwards to avoid her.

"What's wrong, houshi-sama? Or perhaps I should call you my beloved husband?"

Miroku blinked back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. "Sachiko, please. I'm begging you, stop it right now."

"I told you, Sachiko is asleep. Don't you recognise me? I've waited so long for the chance to see you again and you don't even recognise me? Look at my eyes, houshi-sama."

"Stop it..."

"But it's me. It's Sango. Aren't you happy to see me?"

Miroku let the glass he was holding drop to the floor and shatter into shards, much in the same way his heart seemed to be shattering, and sank to his knees in shock. Sachiko-Sango, he wasn't sure what to call the figure standing before him, knelt on the floor next to him and put her arms around him comfortingly.

"Don't cry," she whispered. "I wanted our reunion to be a happy event."

"How...how?"

"I felt so guilty for leaving you alone so abruptly. I made a promise the moment my soul left my body that I would find you in another lifetime so that I could tell you it wasn't your fault. Lifetime after lifetime I never saw your soul reappear in another body. Now I know why, it's because you came to this time. I had a feeling this would be the lifetime I'd meet you again, I knew Kagome and Inuyasha would look after you. I've been waiting so long to see you again."

Miroku grimaced. Clearly this was the work of some demon or apparition. If there was a subject that he, as a monk, knew plenty about it was reincarnation. And if there was one thing he knew about reincarnation it was that while the soul moves on, the thoughts and consciousness of the individual do _not._ But before he had a chance to say so, Sachiko/Sango opened her mouth.

"You're going to say that because you're a monk you know all about spiritual matters such as reincarnation. And you're going to say that's not how reincarnation works."

"So you're a mind reading demon, are you?"

Sachiko/Sango laughed. "No. I just know you too well, you silly creature. And I can understand your scepticism. It's only because of the fact that at the moment of my death every bit of my consciousness was focussed on my intention to see you again that makes this even possible."

He reached up and tentatively touched her face. "And what of Sachiko?" he asked.

"Don't worry. This life belongs to her and I have no intention of taking that away from her. I can only awaken when she falls asleep...poor darling, you look like you're in shock."

"I'm not sure I believe you. For one thing, Sango stopped calling me 'houshi-sama' _years_ ago."

She laughed. "I know_ that_, silly. But it was the only way I could guarantee that you'd recognise me. And I think you of all people should remember that I still used that as a pet name from time to time even after we were married!"

Miroku managed a slight smile. "That's right. Because it made me laugh..."

She reached out and gently stroked his face. "So now that I've finally found you, I can tell you what I've been wanting to tell you for so long. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never got a chance to give you a son I'm sorry that I was so reckless and left you alone so early. I'm sorry that you had to see me die. And please never think it was your fault." She took a deep breath. "And now I can rest in peace."

"Wait, what do you mean? Are you going to leave me right after coming back into my life?"

"Of course. I've done what I needed to do. I can't intrude on your life now that you've moved on."

"I could never move on from you."

"In the morning, I'll be gone. This is Sachiko's life, not mine. Now stand up, Miroku-it's not good to be sitting on the cold floor in your nightclothes."

"I see you're still bossy," he joked feebly but he stood up anyway.

She stroked his arm. "You don't have to sleep alone tonight. I am your wife, after all."

"I have so much to say to you, so much to tell you about. Please tell me this isn't the last time I will see you."

She sighed. She should have expected nothing less from him, that she knew. But, this could only lead to complications.


	36. So, Everythings Back to Normal Then?

_I apologise in advance if this chapter is a little boring. It's mostly setting it up for what happens next and is nothing more than a cute little Sachiko and Miroku interlude. Bear with me, it gets better after this I swear! I should probably apologise to Miroku too, he was **supposed** to be older and wiser in this fic but some of his old cheekiness seems to be creeping in somehow. Oh well, somehow I don't think he's complaining..._

_As always thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter, The Mysterious Authoress and PiscesWater44 who always say the BEST stuff. And Wine IXI, Sessho's Gal and SangoMirokuRule who've been reading this for ages and haven't gotten bored yet. And g2fan, Kaoli Water Goddess, and Ferlooka...I'm glad that people are willing to give this story a try even though it took forever for Sango to actually show up in it._

_Ah, at this rate this is going to be 100 chapters before I ever manage to finish it. Sigh... _

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As the rays of morning sunshine crept across her face, Sachiko became aware of an unusual sensation. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to wriggle her body but found it impossible. Turning her head as far as it would go, she discovered the source of the problem. Clinging to her back like a wet noodle, with his arms tightly wrapped around her, was a sleeping Miroku.

"Umm..." she said. In response to her voice, Miroku opened his violet eyes slowly and sleepily.

"Good morning and everything," Sachiko said. "But would you mind taking your hands off my chest?"

Miroku looked perplexed for a moment. "Er...Sa-Sachiko?" he asked hesitantly.

Sachiko thought she suddenly understood the cause of his confusion, assuming that he'd forgotten that she was here and sleepwalked back into his own bed in the middle of the night. She smiled as she extracted herself from his clutches.

"Yes," she said. "Don't you remember? You let me sleep over because my apartment was broken into."

"Oh..."

"You don't look like you remember at all. Oh well, the important thing is that you go away now so I can get dressed," she laughed.

Suddenly Miroku blinked as the dumbstruck expression left his face. "That's right, we were going to go shopping today, weren't we?"

"Ah, so you do remember!"

A momentary silence followed which was only broken by Sachiko venturing "Er...your hand seems to be on my thigh..."

"Is it?" Miroku said absentmindedly, without moving his hand.

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"But why shouldn't you want to get the one that's the best?" Miroku queried as they stood in the computer store in front of an array of laptops. The salesman there didn't quite know what to make of this seemingly clueless young man who had every appearance of trying to impress his girlfriend by flashing plenty of cash her way-at any rate the salesman had visions of yen signs floating past his eyes as he contemplated the commission he was going to get from this sale.

"Because I can't let you spend that much money on me," Sachiko protested. "A cheaper one will do, really."

"But what _else _would I do with the money?" Miroku muttered dolefully, as if the question of how to spend money was indeed a genuine cause for concern. The salesman tried to hide his elation as Miroku, with a gesture more befitting a king issuing a proclamation to his subjects, said resolutely "We'll take this one. The best one."

Sachiko blushed slightly as she felt the eyes of the other customers who had been watching the whole scene and heard one woman distinctly remark "I wish _my_ boyfriend was like that."

She consciously avoided letting anything in the shop windows catch her eyes as they walked through the shopping centre as she'd found if she started looking at something with any degree of interest, Miroku would immediately ask her if she would like him to buy it for her. She found his behaviour confusing. He professed to have no desire for anything for himself, and from his actions he must have been telling the truth for he seemed to have no concept of the value of things. More than one he had curiously examined various objects and, upon hearing the price, asked "Is that a lot? Is this a valuable item then?" Surely everyone knew that Rolex watches were both expensive and valuable, right? Surely everyone know how much money constituted "a lot", right? But Miroku behaved as if he had never dealt with money in his life! She was forced to wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that he'd mentioned he used to be a monk.

Just then, Miroku uttered an appreciative sigh. "Something smells delicious. Are you hungry?"

They were passing by the food court of the shopping centre, and since it was just before lunchtime the smells of the lunch offerings were beginning to fill the air but the seats were still mostly empty. The perfect time to sit down if one wanted to eat a leisurely uncrowded lunch. Miroku had already started floating toward a counter selling seafood as if pulled there by the force of the mouth-watering aroma. Sachiko pondered getting a hamburger but felt slightly guilty eating such things in the presence of Miroku who always picked the healthy options, it seemed, so she opted for a beef bowl instead.

And despite Miroku's protestations, she paid for the lunch. It was the least she could do, she thought. It wasn't entirely easy, Miroku was set on paying for everything himself.

"Are you trying to buy me?" she asked as they sat down.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Are you spending money on me to get me to like you more?"

Miroku looked thoughtful. "Is that an effective way to win the hearts of women?"

"Eh? _Some_ women, I suppose."

"But not you?"

Sachiko laughed. "What would you say if I said yes? Really though, Miroku, how can you say you don't want anything for yourself? You like cars, don't you? Why don't you get one?"

"Ah, operating one of those is a skill that would be beyond me, I'm afraid. Oh, but perhaps _you_ would like one?"

"No! I don't want you to get me a car," she sighed. "Well then why do you still live with Kagome? I'm sure you could afford a pretty decent place of your own."

Miroku hesitated. The obvious answer to that question would have been: "because I am still unfamiliar with living in this era, being from 500 years in the past as I am, and I still require assistance in order to perform many activities in this strange modern world that you take for granted."

But, he couldn't say that.

So he said "Because all three of us have very strong ties, and we enjoy living under the same roof."

"Oh." Sachiko poked around at her lunch in silence, slightly embarrassed that she wasn't quite so dextrous at using chopsticks as the average person.

Finally, she said: "Tell me what it was like to live as a monk."

Miroku hesitated again. That was another question that was virtually impossible to answer. What was he supposed to say? That he wandered around Feudal Era Japan defeating demons by means of magical incantations while seeking to release himself from the cursed hole in his hand that threatened his life? If he had learned anything at all about this time it was that people here thought that sort of thing only happened in fantasy stories.

Which was strange. After all, the people here lived in a time of giant buildings reaching up to the sky, metal machinery that rolled along the ground and flew through the air, and amazing boxes that cooked food in an instant without any fire. Amongst all that wonderment, these people found it hard to believe in a simple thing like demons?

But since he couldn't say all that, he simply said "Oh, that was a long time ago."

He felt guilty for a moment. It occurred to him that out of necessity there were an awful lot of things he had to hide from her. But what else could he do?

"You look deep in thought," Sachiko noted.

"Ah, it's nothing," Miroku said dismissively, and then to change the subject added "Your food looks nice."

"Want to try some?" she said, plucking a strip of beef and aiming it towards his mouth. Miroku opened his mouth in anticipation, but the beef dropped from it's awkwardly balanced position between Sachiko's chopsticks and fell onto the table. Sachiko growled in frustration.

"I just can't use these," she said. "It's so embarrassing!"

"Not at all," Miroku said, smiling kindly and reaching over. "You just have to place your fingers differently is all."

He put his hands over hers to correct her grip. She blushed as his warm, masculine hands enveloped hers and she wasn't sure if she were only imagining or if he was purposely taking his sweet time with it.

"Now try it," he said. To her astonishment, she found it worked.

"That's amazing. Thank you!"

"It's nothing. Perhaps next time you can teach me to use a fork."


End file.
